A Ghost of a man
by Azurewall
Summary: Teleportation always is a risky thing. You could end up somewhere else instead of your intended destination. For this man the truth about this is even harsher, as he finds himself in a world untouched by war, a world of innocence, a world of lush forests and clear rivers... that deep inside him kinda makes him want to nuke the heck out of it.
1. Hazards of science

Chapter 1:

In an unknown Terran facility, an elevator slowly descends to the bowels of the installation A man wearing what would appear to be the suit of a Battecruiser's captain and next to him a man almost as tall as him wearing the distinct suit of a Ghost operative were inside the elevator, talking among themselves

"Have all your equipment ready?"

"Yes sir. C-10 rifle is good and I have a couple of other goodies in my pouches"

"What about your cloak? Is everything up to standards?"

The Ghost answered his question by becoming invisible in front of him "You could say that"

" Good, we don't want you to end up defenseless when you get there"

" Well hopefully I won't need to use any of my equipment" replied the operative as he sheathed his knife

"Good to see you've finally managed to overcome your aggressive tendencies" said the Captain

"Have to thank the fine folk of Umoja for that" the Ghost replied with a smile back at him

As the elevator opened, flashes of light blinded the two men. When they regained their sight, the operative next to the well dressed officer, stared in awe at what he saw.

"Hot damn. You actually managed to do it?"

In the middle of the large room, stood what appeared to be a Man-made Warp Gate. While it was not exactly the same as Protoss architecture, it had the most important feature. A spiraling orb of energy that could teleport anyone.

"Doctor Nier, are we ready to proceed?"

"Yes, though I worry about X8. We have no idea what will happen should the experiment fail"

"Don't worry doc. If there's something I learned while I was in the Dominion is that there's no rewards without risks. So let's fire this thing up and meet our new friends"

"I swear X8, your confidence may prove to be your undoing. Very well then. If you would please lay down , we will begin the experiment"

The masked Ghost obeyed his instructions and readied himself, both mentally and physically. While he has seen the Protoss forces teleport, he knew that their shields offered some protection when blinking form place to place. But a human? One unshielded as well. That has never been tested.

"I'll see you on the other side" replied the Ghost with confidence in his tone. But in his mind, various scenarios ran across. Such as being disintegrated to being turned inside out. He closed his eyes and using his Psi abilities, retreated as far as the memory wipe would allow him to remember, he was smiling as he relieved one of his most pleasant memories.

As the slab he was on slowly approached the spiraling black hole, several scientist where looking at various monitors, making sure that everything would go as planned. But not all that were present in the room were what they appeared to be.

"Donny how's it going on your end?" one of the scientist asked

He didn't receive a reply from his companion.

"Donny, wake up and pay attention!"

Yet again his fellow scientist was silent.

"Damn it Don! You need to pay atten..." His words were cut short. As soon as "Donny" turned around, a large spike appeared from his right arm. The screams of the scientist being stabbed quickly alerted everyone in the room.

"ZERG!" one of the Marines in the room yelled as "Donny" became a mass of purple with blotches covering its body

The changeling looked at the humans and quickly came to the realization that it needed to complete its mission quickly.

The sound of gunfire deafened the scientists. The bullets repeatedly hit their mark, as the Changelings squeals of pain clearly indicated.

"Don't let it harm any equipment!" yelled the captain

The continuing firepower of the marines finally overwhelmed the creature. But with one final strike, it smashed the terminal in front of it.

The Marines quickly walked over to the spot where the creature stood. With their adrenaline on high (fulled by a stimpack or two) they were ready for another go. But quickly felt disappointment upon finding the mess of purple goop that was once a zerg organism.

"Oh no. Which system did it break?" Doctor Nier quickly asked with worry

"The Artificial Matrix was damaged in its attacked" yelled one of the scientist

"Damn it. We need to get X8 out of there" replied Nier

The doctor quickly rushed towards the Ghost. "Shut everything down now!"

"We can't the systems are going haywire!"

"No, no. X8!" Nier yelled at the top of his lungs. But the Ghost was still in his mind, unaware of what happened in the room

"X8!" Nier yelled out once more right as the Ghost entered the Warp

* * *

While X8 was in his memories, he could still feel the effects of the teleportation. He felt as if his body was made out of clay. He could feel his bones and muscles shifting in the warp. He "woke up" and all he could see was utter darkness. Not even the lights that his visor produced could he see.

He was scared to the point of thinking that he was blind. But as he regained his composure and began to analyze the situation, a bright light of white blinded him. As suddenly as it occurred he felt gust of wind hitting his body. Slowly his eyes adjusted to the light, when he saw what was a cloud passing him by. He quickly realized what was happening. He was falling from the sky.

On instinct, he extended his appendages to slow his body and tried to use his Psionics to create a field to cushion his fall. But as he extended his arms he was stunned once more.

No longer did he have arms, instead he had a strange set of legs. He quickly looked at all of his body and while he still had his hostile environment suit on, his body was completely different. No longer could he call himself a human, instead his new form looked more like the equine creatures of Earth, but with an added twist. He could feel as if something was attached to his back. Not only that but he could feel them as if it was part of his body. Moving them freely as if they were just another set of arms.

Confused and intrigued at the same time, he completely forgot that he was falling from a great height. As he neared the ground, he tried to use his Psionics one more time, but it was too late. A large thud, got the attention of some locals.

As he slowly drifted out of consciousness, several figures approached him. His vision blurred, he could only see the silhouettes of those before him before he blacked out.

"Oh my!"

"Is he ok?"

"No, he's barely breathing"

"We need to get him some help!"

"Quick lets get him to the hospital. Hopefully Nurse Redheart can help him"

* * *

_**AU Notes: Short chapter but its pretty much an intro to the story. I don't plan on having the chapters as short as this one. Constructive criticism is welcomed. **_


	2. Slow and steady

Chapter 2

"X...X...Wake up... Wake up..." a muffled voice called out the operative

As the operative opened his eyes he was greeted by the sight of another Ghost. The young woman was looking directly at him with an annoyed expression etched across her face

"Come on, nap time is over. We need to move!" Sporadic gun fire could be heard in the background. An explosion near them rocked the very ground.

"Come on let's go!" the operative grabbed X's hand and helped in on his feet.

As the both ran, squeals of Zerg creatures could be heard coming from the dust around them.

"Crap... How many?" X asked as he reloaded his canister rifle

"Of us or of them?" replied the other Ghost as she looked around with her thermal goggles

"I don't doubt we have an entire Hive going right for us" X replied as turned on his thermal goggles as well "I mean of us"

"Last transmission said half the battalion was wiped out" the ghost replied as she fire a shot into the dust a high-pitched squeal quickly followed "If we want to live for another day we need to go to the evac point now"

"Now for the question of the day... You up for a race Pyre?" X asked as he fired his weapon as well

Pyre gave an audible chuckle "You and your goddamn competitions"

"Cloaking all the way?" X asked as he jabbed a stimpack on his thigh

Pyre pointed to the sky. As X looked to where his friend was pointing, he saw several large blotches of red and orange, indicating the presence of Overseers.

"Well, we're doing this the hard way then"

They both darted of into the dust cloud. Both ghosts were undergoing an adrenaline rush as they continued to fire their weapons while running. The advantage that the Zerg had over other Terran forces in the dust-storm were annulled as they could see their thermal signatures.

"Pick up the pace X" Pyre yelled as she fired at the silhouette of an approaching zergling.

_And she says I'm the competitive one_ thought the ghost as he continue to run. When they finally managed to clear the dust-storm, they could see the dropships taking off with whatever survivors were alive. Only a couple were left, preparing to take-off.

"CareTaker, hold the bus! You have two more to pick up" said Pyre as she talked on her com-link

"Hurry up and get in. I'm not going to stay here and wait to become Zerg chow" replied the Medivac pilot

The two Ghosts quickly entered the ship. Inside several bloodied marines were slowly being healed.

"Well that was a close one" said Pyre as she panted

"Just like always" replied X as he took a seat

"You can take off your helmet now"

"No, this thing stays with me" X replied as he tapped it

"Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" the pilot exclaimed as the ship's engine roared outside

As the Medivac took off, several Hydralisks appeared from the dustcloud. They fired their spines and managed to hit the ship. Their spines capable of penetrating the armor of a Siege tank, made short work of the ships platting.

Several of the spines managed to get inside the ship. The commotion startled the pilot.

"Everyone alright?" the pilot asked on the intercom

Pyre checked to see if anything hit her. Seeing that she was uninjured she checked the marines as well. Likewise, the men inside were unscathed by the attack as well.

_Sigh _"We sure are lucky aren't we" she said with relief in her tone

"Right X?" turning around to see her friend, her feelings of relief quickly shifted into horror.

"Oh no...X!" The ghost face was bleeding profusely. His body slumped on the seat he was on.

She quickly approached him, to try and figure out how bad was the damage. She could see that while a Hydra spine didn't hit him directly, it managed to scrape the right side of his face. (Unfortunately for many Terran's, Hydralisk induced injuries are problematic to treat due to the toxin's their spines carry)

With the poison so close to his brain, it quickly overwhelmed him as it continued to spread through his body.

"Hold on X! You'll make it" said Pyre as she laid her friend on the floor. At that point the Ghost began to convulse, his breathing became shallow and slowly his eyes began to close.

"No, stay with me!" Pyre yelled. But her friend slowly drifted to the void.

"X...wake up...please...WAKE UP!"

* * *

Slowly he opened his eyes, his vision adjusting to the pure white light was entering the room. When his vision finally adapted, he looked around to see where he was.

"This feeling...I don't...feel like myself" he said in low voice as he looked around.

The room where he was was relatively small, a window allowed the sunshine to be the main source of light. He could hear the sounds of birds chirping outside and he could also hear... cheerful conversation and laughter. Deciding to explore, he slowly made his way to the edge of the bed. As soon as he tried to stand up, he went head first into the floor.

"Ugh! What the hell?" he asked himself

When he opened his eyes, he saw the reason why he fell. He didn't have two legs now, but four. Inside his mind, a movie replaying what happened before he passed out played.

"Oh crap..." he said in a loud tone

He noticed a small mirror hanging from a wall. He tried to get over it, but he ended up stumbling as he tried to get used to his new form. Several times he fell to the floor, several other times he almost broke his head crashing into various furnishings in the room. In the end he ended up crawling towards the mirror.

_Sigh_ _Finally._ He said in his mind _Do I really want to see what that mirror will show me?_

He looked at the mirror with some fear. A large drop of sweat fell unto the floor. With one large gulp, he slowly stood up and looked at the mirror.

"...WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME!?" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

The mirror showed a light Grey pony with large eyes (one blue, the other green) and a short black mane. He completely looked at his body and clearly could see that he now had the form of an equine. He had several bandages all over his body. Something else caught his attention, on his back several bandages covered what appeared to be...wings!

"Ok... this settles it... I'm not going to smoke any more Terrazine. To hell with the Specter program!"

As he continued to look at his new body, he noticed something else.

"What...when did I get a goddamn tattoo?" he asked himself when he saw a mark on his flank. It depicted the helmet of a ghost operative, half was detailed the other half was a silhouette, as if it was cloaked.

Once more he looked around the room, when he saw his Hazard suit on top of a table. He took slow steps to get used to his new body.

"One step at a time... You're a Ghost...you can adapt to anything..." _Even if I look like... Sigh... a pony..._

This time he didn't fall flat on his face. When he got to the table he noticed something odd about his suit. He wondered how he would put it on with out any hands. He slowly extended his hoofs and managed to actually pick it up.

"I'm definitely suffering from Terrazine withdrawal" he said as he wondered how he was able to pick it up.

Right when he was about to try and see if it would fit him, he heard rattling at the door. Someone was going to enter the room.

Using his psionics, he shifted the waves of light around his body and managed to cloak himself. _At least I'm still a true Ghost_.

He hugged a wall and readied himself for whatever was about to enter.

The door slowly opened, he had many expectations as to what he would see, ranging from a Terran to a Hydralisk. But once more he was surprised, instead he saw a blue horned pony wearing a nurses hat entering the room.

"Ok lets see how you're doing today" said the pony cheerfully. She gasped upon seeing the empty bed, she put the tray that she was carrying on top of a nearby table. The sight the floating tray caused X to ramble one more time about Terrazine.

"Oh no, where could he have gone? He shouldn't be going about just yet. He could get hurt" She searched under the bed to see if the patient was under it. Taking the initiative, the Ghost slowly made his way towards the door. As he was about to touch the wooden door, he suddenly became visible once more.

_Crap... I still need to recover more of my energy_. The nurse quickly turned around and saw him.

"There you are silly filly! Now if you would please go back to your bed, I can check how your body is holding up"

He looked at her for a moment and back at the tray. The sight of a sharp,pointy needle caused him to cringe "...Uh, I'm going to have to say **No** to that" X replied as he darted towards the door

When he got outside, all he could see where more equine creatures. Analyzing them also revealed to him, that they weren't all the same. Some had a horn coming from their heads, some where more like Terran horses and others had wings... like him.

_I'm definitely not in Korhal anymore_

As he look at them with both intrigue and confusion, he forgot about the pony in the room. When she exited it, she looked at him and gathered as much air as she could

"RUN AWAY PATIENT!" she yelled. The other ponies heard her and quickly stared X down.

Normally he would have try to take them all down. But because he was still injured and still didn't master his new form, he preferred the alternative.

"And I'm gone" he said as he began to run

A group of doctors and nurses gave chase. He ran from ward to ward, corridor to corridor, desperately searching for an exit. He managed to cause a large ruckus as he knocked several ponies by accident. At one point he, hit a nurse that was carrying several needles full of medicine, as he knocked her over they flew off towards a nearby pony. Luckily the needles missed as the pony barely managed to dodge them.

"We need to get him back to his room, he could hurt himself even more" said one of the doctors chasing him

"I'm more worried about the others"

"I think I can stop him" replied a unicorn. Using her magic, she managed to ensnare X's legs, causing him to trip and fall over.

_The hell? Did that one just use psionics? _X asked himself. Before he could figure out if it was true, a large shadow loomed over him.

"This is gonna hurt..." Several Earth ponies tackled him down. He struggled to get them off but couldn't.

"Calm down! We're just trying to help you!" said one of the ponies on him

"X's struggling caught them off-guard. His strength was almost on par with an Earth pony

"Please hurry up with that sedation spell" said an Earth Pony as he continued to try to subdue him

"GET...OFF...ME!" X yelled as he mustered his psionic powers once more. He created a Psi Blast, sending those on top of him flying. Most of them were knocked out, but not severely hurt. X, stood up and turned around. The doctors and nurses all had their mouths opened in shock. A smirk ran across his face "_That will show them not to mess with me" though X as he ran away once more_

"Did... did he just use magic?" one pony asked, dumfounded by what it saw "Did a pegasus just USE MAGIC?"

"I really don't think that he'll be awake for a while Twilight" said Rainbow Dash as the group walked the halls

"Even so, there's something about him... something fascinating" the unicorn replied

"I...think so too..." added Fluttershy in a low voice

"He's just a Pegasus like you and me" the blue pegasus retorted

"No there's definitely something about that pony that intrigues me" Said Twilight

"Lots of things intrigue you Twilight dear" replied the regal Rarity

Twilight turned towards her "But this time, it feels different..." As she turned she saw an unaware pony heading straight for her. She couldn't react in time as the Grey pony collided with her.

"By any chance does that feeling included pain?" snorted Rainbow Dash.

Twilight was upside down, staring at her with annoyance as the blue Pegasus laughed at her. Regaining her stance she turned around to see which pony stumbled unto her. It was the multicolored eyed pony that they brought for treatment.

"Hey... are you okay? Wake up..." The soft voice was calming for him. He thought it was just a bad dream, slowly he opened his eyes expecting to see another Terran. Much to his dismay, a yellow pony was looking at him, a warm tender smile across her face.

He crawled away from her and stumbled unto another pony. This one was pure white with a purple mane.

"Hey no need to be nervous, we're not going to hurt you" said Rarity. The pony looked at her, she could see what looked like fear in his eyes.

The grey pegasus stood up and backed himself unto a wall "Stay back!" he exclaimed "I don't want to hurt you"

The ponies looked at him with worry, such a reaction was uncommon. Twilight decided that the best course of action was to try and enter his mind, to try talk to him directly. Her horn glowed as she entered the pegasus mind.

"_You must understand, we don't want to hurt you. We just want to help you" _

"_Wha... What are you doing in my mind?" _

"_I just want to talk, please just calm down. I promise nopony will hurt you"_

"_Get out..."_

"_Please, we just wish the best for you"_

"_GET OUT OF MY MIND!" _A Psionic ripple ran across the Ghost's mind forcing Twilight out of his head. Back in the real world, she was shocked about what happened. This proved her theory about this pony... she realized what he really was.

X, was panting heavily. The other ponies wondered why since he stood there without making a move.

Right as Twilight was about speak to him, another group of ponies arrived. It was the medical staff that was chasing him, all glaring at him

"Nurse Redheart!" Twilight exclaimed upon seeing her

"Sorry, but no time for small talk Twilight" she replied as she looked at the tired Pegasus "I have to escort Mr. Runaway to his room"

Upon saying this, she walked over to him, with a frown on her face, accompanied by several unicorn doctors. Quickly the doctors used their magic to sedate him. He could feel them encroaching on his mind but he couldn't do anything about it. He instead locked the part of his mind that housed what memories he had. Too tired in body and mind, his eyes rolled back slightly and he fell to the floor asleep.

"Ok, now that that's taken care of... How are you girls doing today?" the white earth pony asked cheerfully

"What's gonna happen to him?" Rainbow Dash asked as the pegasus was being carried away.

"He will be place in quarantine until his wounds fully recover. We'll have several guards watching him as well. Don't want him to pull another stunt like that"

"Will you allow visits?" Twilight asked, her eyes shining at her almost as they were pleading

"I guess, it would be harmless enough. But not today I'm afraid. We should let him rest"

"May we please see him tomorrow" Twilight asked

"Yes, you may. Now If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work" Redheart replied as she walked away.

"Well this was certainly an interesting day" said Rarity

"I will be even more interesting when we come back to see him" Twilight replied

The others looked at her with curiosity "Wh...What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked

"I'll explain on the way back" the purple unicorn retorted

* * *

Gunfire could be heard...screams of men and women could be heard all over...burning buildings light up the night sky...A lone figure in the middle of a a bloodied street stood still... looking at all the carnage... bright green eyes loomed over a man pleading for his life...pointing his rifle at the hapless civilian...an echoing shot was the last thing to be heard...

_GASP. _The Ghost woke up, sweating.

_Sigh _"Damn inhibitors must be on the fritz again" said the Ghost "Umojan scientists can't fix anything even if their lives depended on it"

Deciding to ignore the dream, he tried to move out of is bed. But his movement was restricted, he couldn't move as he was now strapped to the bed. He tried to use his psionics but it didn't matter, as the bonds that tied him wouldn't even budge.

"Great... stuck on a bed... with neutralized psionics... and a white ceiling at stare at all day" the ghost let out an audible sigh "This is going to get boring rather quick"

After what seemed like an eternity for him, he heard the door to his room slowly opening. Music to his ears. Still, he didn't bother to look at who entered. He could hear the sound of hoofs walking towards him, he deduced that there were two ponies in the room with him.

"Uhmm, Hello? How are you feeling?" Even though he didn't look at her, he could tell who it was as he remembered whose voice it belonged to

"That depends on what you mean by that..." he replied dryly, still staring at the ceiling

"Are you ok?" she asked with a hint of worry in her tone of voice

"I'm tied to a bed, I'm bored out of my mind and on top of that... I am starving. So the word ok doesn't even come close" he replied finally turning his head to the purple unicorn and the yellow pegasus

"Geez, no need to be all grouchy" Twilight replied

He gave a chuckled when he heard her response, he could feel his aggression inhibitors working

"Consider yourself lucky that its I'm just...**Grouchy** " he replied as he looked at the ceiling again

_This is one of those times that I wished I didn't have inhibitors._

"Well then, I have good news for you" said Twilight with a smile

"Are you going to get me out of here?" X asked

"How did you know?"

"I didn't, that was just some rare optimism on my part. I take it I'll be escorted all the way"

"I'm afraid so. After what happened yesterday, many ponies are weary of you. Just promise us that you'll behave and you won't be brought back here"

"As long as I'm not tied to a damn bed I'll do whatever you say"

She smile at his response. Her horn glowed with a purple aura as she undid the straps on the bed. X quickly got up and stretched, but quickly stopped when he tried it with his wings. He gave a sharp gasp as the pain rocked his body.

"Are you ok?" Fluttershy asked in a soft voice

"I'm fine!" he replied. The tone of his voice made her back away from him. When he looked at her he felt...bad about what he did.

_Sigh _"I'm sorry... "

The yellow pegasus smiled warmly at him when he apologized "It's alright... I know you didn't mean it"

_...Something about her... makes me feel...strange_

"Can we get going?" X asked

"Yes, please follow us" Twilight replied. The three ponies left the room and headed for the exit, though not before the staff gave several looks at X, unfazed by them he continued to follow Twilight towards the exit.

Finally outside, X stood still for a moment upon seeing several ponies wearing ornate armor.

"I take it I am to be escorted by you and your friends"

Twilight gave a sheepish smile. "I sort of forgot about them"

_Sigh _"Let's just get going. I don't want to be near a hospital again"


	3. The ghost in the court

Chapter 3:

"_You've changed..."_

"_In order to survive, one has to..."_

"_...Is it true?"_

"_Is what true?"_

"_Don't do this crap! You know what I mean!"_

"_If you already know; then why ask me?"_

"_So that I could hear it coming from you..."_

_..._

"_Please... don't do this... don't leave... stay with us..."_

"_And continue being a puppet? Never"_

_"You don't think they won't do the same or worse?"_

_"From what I've heard they free our kind"_

"_For their convenience. Hell they would dissect you if it would mean advancing their research"  
_

_"I'm willing to take that risk"_

_"Don't leave, you know how they helped us. They have improved us in all aspects...they fixed you"_

"_At what cost? What ever humanity I had is gone... I'm just a tool to them... to him..."_

"_You know what will happen if I see you again..._

"_Yes... good bye my friend..."_

"_Hey! You better keep away from the Dominion! You hear me?"_

* * *

"_..._Hey...Wake up...Hey..."

X awoke once more, a majestic castle in view. The journey took a while, so he decided it was best to retire into his subconscious, now awake all he could see where ponies wearing intricate golden armor.

"Where are we?" X asked

"This is Canterlot" Twilight cheerfully replied "I used to live here a while back"

"Judging from the guards and the accommodations... someone of great importance lives here?" X asked his green eye analyzing the intricacy of the castle

"The ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia"

X gave an audible groan. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked

"Let's just say I have a problem with...royalty" X replied, some anger could be made out of his tone of voice

His reply left her somewhat worried. What could he mean by that? Was he in trouble with Celestia? Was he an enemy of hers? As more questions raced on her mind, more did she worried. But remembering the regiments that guarded the castle and that the princess was extremely adept at Magic, her worry slowly subsided though she decided to keep an eye on him just to be sure. Several guards approached the three ponies.

"The princess is waiting for you, please right this way" said the lead guard

As they made their way across the great halls, X couldn't stop his wandering eye. Great halls with fine chandeliers hanging above was all he could see. He managed to see several stained glass windows that showed the history of this world. The trotting slowly bored him, the repetitive task of going from corridor to corridor was starting to get to him, but noticing the increase in the guard detail meant one thing.

_Hmm...Must be near the Throne room...hopefully I'll get some answers form this Celestia..._

Pondering what would happen upon meeting the Princess, the group he was with came upon a large door. Several guards stood at attention. As he was about to enter, a large hoof blocked him.

"Hold it!" exclaimed an armor clad pony "Until her majesty calls for you, you are to stay put. However the Elements are permitted to enter"

X looked at him with a ill tempered look...but he remembered the promise that he made before leaving the hospital. "Fine" he replied dryly

"It won't take long. I promise" said Twilight as she entered with Fluttershy.

For a while, he waited, staring outside the window. The sight of a warm sun, the sounds of the birds chirping and the echoes of cheerful conversation made him think about his situation once more.

_...This world...untouched by war... even the very air I breathe feels serene...Never thought I would miss the horrors of war...I better stay on my guard, even if they act all nice doesn't mean that I could be heading straight for a trap _

Suddenly, he felt a hoof touching his body "Her majesty is requesting your presence" said one of the guards. He followed the stallion until they reached the great door once more. Slowly it opened, he could feel a presence inside... though he wasn't gifted in detecting psionic individuals, the Terrazine's enchantments granted him the ability to shiver slightly when in the presence of a powerful psion.

A large red carpet made ended up upon the throne. Sitting upon it was a regal looking pony. It was pure white, its mane moved as if it was blowing in the wind and it was colored in bright shades. Getting closer noticed several other details that intrigued him. She had a horn and wings as well.

_There's no denying it...she has all the attributes that the others lack...she's the strongest psion here_

Besides the Princess and her guards, there were six other ponies as well. He already knew the purple unicorn Twilight and the yellow pegasus Fluttershy. He gave a quick glance at the other ponies

_Her name...Rarity... I remember her...she exudes regal personality...a noble?_

_The blue one...Rainbow Dash...energetic...impulsive... competitive...my kind of style_

_Orange pony...her style...brings back memories of a frontier world...hard working..._

He looked at the last one. It could barely stand still, bouncing in the same place

_This pink pony...feels...random...uneasy..._

"Princess Celestia I presume? X asked

"That is correct" She replied

"Princess Celestia, this is the pony that I mentioned" said Twilight as X continued to get closer

"Thank you for bringing him here Twilight" she replied as she looked at the grey pony "I've heard a lot about you" said Celestia with a smile

"Means I'm not doing my job. Do tell what you've hear of me"

"Well for starters, four of the Elements found an unconscious Grey pegasus in the middle of a field. Then I hear news of that same pegasus wreaking havoc inside a hospital by using...Magic"

_Magic...So that's what they call the power Psionics..._

"I wanted to get out. Hospitals... I really don't like hospitals" X replied

"Ugh tell me about it" added Rainbow Dash

Before Celestia could continue to talk, a flash of light entered the room, blinding X for a moment. When the flash subsided, there next to Celestia, stood the princess of the Moon.

"Greetings everyone" said Luna

All the ponies bowed upon seeing her "Greetings, princess Luna" the elements said in unison. All except X. He instead looked at her with intrigue. The dark blue unicorn-pegasus demanded the same respect as Celestia. Her mane confused him, it was as if he was looking at an open night sky and it flowed in the same manner as Celestia's, as if it was blowing in a breeze.

"Thank you for taking the time to be here sister" said Celestia with a smile

Luna smiled back at her "I was looking forward to meet this strange...pony"

_Her emphasis on the word...does she know...do they all know?_

"Do you know?" X asked

"Do we know of what?" Luna asked

"About who I am...what I am?"

Twilight slowly approached him "You mean, the fact you're not exactly a pony..." she said in a soft tone

"So you do know..."

"Several days ago, Luna and I felt a presence entering Equestria. It was the very same day Twilight and her friends found you" Celestia replied "Such a coincidence demanded to be investigated"

Twilight quickly trotted towards him "When you performed magic in the hospital it proved my theory" added Twilight "You're not a pony...well not at first at least"

"So the question is... what are you?" Luna asked

All eyes went to him. He could sense several emotions in the room. Worry...Intrigue...fear...hope...

"I am...was a Terran" X replied "I was hoping you could tell me how I became what I am now"

"I'm sorry, but I do not know. At least not now" Celestia replied

Sigh... "I was afraid of that" said X with his head down "Do you all have time for a story?"

All the ponies nodded at him. They were extremely curious about what he going to say.

"I used to be human. A Terran ghost to be precise. My kind managed to expand across the galaxy, creating homes,colonies, empires. we would use whatever resources a planet would provided to grow, to expand, to evolve. We used to think that we were the only sentient beings and that the entire galaxy was ours for the taking. That concept changed drastically when we discovered the Zerg and the Protoss.

Out of the two, its the Zerg that we fear and for good reason. They are like locust, consuming whatever lifeforms they come across. If they find a creature that can fill whatever certain need they have they will assimilate it. They are a plague upon all life forms, one that must be exterminated if we are all to survive. They could take a harmless critter and turn it into a murderous abomination.

As for the Protoss... I just wish we could get along. For the most part they tend to keep to themselves. Can't really blame them, most Terrans would just shoot them on sight. However, I've heard about a large group of them helping humans and humans helping them back. Their technology is advanced, more so than our own, but that's nothing compared to the power of their psionics. I've actually seen a Protoss reduce to ash an entire swarm of zerglins with one well placed storm.

Terrans aren't exactly saints. I've seen the worst mankind has to offer, leaving civilians behind to die to even nuking entire planets. I certainly have done my share of spreading grief and death. Which is why I left the Dominion, even thought most if not all of my emotions are gone, part of me still feels that I can at least try to do something good. Even though one right won't fix all the wrongs I've done, it will certainly feel damn good.

Sigh... "Any questions you would like to be answered?"

When he looked up, he could tell that a barrage of question from all the ponies would be heading his way.

"Princess Luna, you have a question?"

"Yes. These protoss and zerg... can't you just make peace with them?

"As I said, they keep to themselves as most Terrans would prefer killing them. But I don't feel the same. If we were to join forces, then the Zerg wouldn't be a threat. As for being friends with the Zerg...imagine if you will a raging fire. If you don't put it out it will in the end, destroy whatever it touches"

"Celestia..." said X as he pointed with his hoof

"Psionics... that's why you can do magic, correct?"

"You could say that. Looks like I retained my abilities despite my current form. However I still need to recover my energy. There's only so much...magic I can do in one day"

"That would explain why you being a pegasus would be able to such feats" said Celestia

"Ah man, so that means that I can't do the same things as you?!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash

"You, with the hat..."

"Name's Applejack, you said you were a ghost? But how's that possible, I mean you're alive right now"

"Perhaps psychically, but in mind... I'm dead"

His response warranted some worry from the ponies. Unknown to him, Celestia tried to enter his mind, to know him better. But years of mental training and constant memory wipes made it difficult for her. She actually felt pity for him, what little she discovered only revealed a life of pain, betrayal and chaos.

"That...doesn't really answer my question" Applejack replied

Sigh " A ghost is a soldier...a highly trained soldier. Usually they take on the most dangerous missions. Be it to drop in a zerg hive to assassinating a high valued target"

The word assassination didn't sit to well with the ponies. They wondered just how many creatures he could have killed.

"Yes Twilight?"

"I have so many questions to ask you" said Twilight, her eyes sparkling with excitement "But I feel bad for not asking you the most important one"

"Which is?" X asked

"What's your name?"

He stood there quiet. Contemplating the question "I...don't have one"

"Everypony has a name silly filly" quickly retorted the pink pony. He was dumbfounded. Did that pony just...Teleport? "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! See how easy it was, now it's your turn!" she said a smile with a smile her face

"My designation number is X8177E" X replied looking at her with a mix of fear and confusion

"That's a strange name. But that's ok, everypony is unique and you certainly are unique. I mean you are my first pegasus friend that can do magic" GASP! "I just remembered that your new here, which means I have to get everything ready!" As quickly as she got in his face, she disappeared. Leaving only a trail of smoke.

_What the hell? How did she? _Before he could figure out how did she reached Mach speed, he was approached by both princesses

Twilight gave a small chuckle when she looked at his confused expression "Don't worry. You'll get used to her quirky personality"

"Such a long name. May we call you by something else?" Luna asked

"...Those who know me either call me X or X8. Call me what ever you prefer" X replied

"Then on behalf of all Equestria, we welcome you...X" Celestia said

X nodded at her. Though he was weary of people with high standing, part of him felt that he could trust both princesses.

"While I still have many questions that I would like to ask you, I feel it's only fair if we answer some yours as well" said Luna

Without wasting time X quickly went to the topic that peaked his interest "Are these really...wings?" X asked as he tried to extend them once more. Rainbow Dash quickly darted towards him.

"Of course they are!" she replied as she did loops on top of him "It's what makes us pegasi so awesome" He tried to flap his wings like she was doing but a sharp pain once again jolted him

"Are...you ok?" Fluttershy timidly asked. He looked at her and he felt the same way when he met her. He could feel great kindness emanating from her.

"Guess I still need to recover. Thank you for your concern" X replied giving a barely noticeable smile

"Don't worry. As soon as you get better, I'll train you on how to use them" said Rainbow Dash

"Where will I be staying? Don't make me go back to the hospital" said X

"Celestia smiled at him "No need to worry, you can stay here in one of the guests rooms"

"I appreciate that. One more thing...is there anything to eat? I can only last so long on supplements"

"I'll have the cooks prepare something for you" chuckled Celestia

"Once more, I appreciate that" nodded X

"Today was enlightening day. I thank everypony for being here, I wish you a good day to all"

As the ponies cleared the throne room, they crowded X as they left. He tried his best to answer the flow of questions that continued to come at him. At one point he thought his inhibitors would exploded by the overloading as they tried to process all the questions

"Well sister, what do you think?" Luna asked

"His story holds true. What little I saw..." Celestia paused

"What's wrong sister?" Luna asked noticing the saddened look on her face

"This pony needs our help. He lacks emotions, he lacks joy and happiness. We have a difficult task ahead of us" Celestia replied "Please follow me Luna"

* * *

To say that the ponies were uncomfortable seeing X eat would be an understatement. The grey pony's ravenous hunger could have matched that of a dragon. Every time a staff member would return to the kitchen, she would hear X asking for more as he already finished what he was eating. This ran for a while, till one final chug of cider ended the spectacle.

X gave a large sigh after his drink "It's been a while since I've ate like this"

"Jeez, ever heard of table manners?" said Twilight as she looked at now satisfied X

He gave a slight chuckle "When you've eaten nothing but tasteless food for almost an entire lifetime, then you would understand why I relish such rare opportunities as this"

"X, I know that we've been asking you questions all day but there's still a couple more that I would like to ask you" twilight replied

"Very well, I would rather get this million question show over with. What do you want to know?"

Twilight grabbed several pieces of paper and a quill "Well, we know that you can use magic. So I was wondering; what kind can you do?"

_Have my psionics fully recovered?...Only one way to find out... _X closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, a plate stood floating in the middle of the room.

"Besides telekinesis I can do other things like cloaking"

"Cloaking?" Applejack retorted. Using his psionics, X shifted the waves of light around him, essentially becoming invisible in front of them. "Means that I can be invisible" X said as he became visible once more "I have learned a couple of tricks as well from my previous training such as increasing my speed and reflexes"

"Let's not forget that you have telepathy as well" Twilight muttered as she continued to write

"By the way, if you ever want to know something about me ask, don't go prodding inside my mind"

His words left her cold. She wondered if he knew that she tried to pry some information from his mind, all she could do was give a sheepish smile

"Anything else ?" said X

"Why does your eye glow green?" Rainbow Dash asked

"It's not my eye but an implant" X replied. She tilted her head to the side a little bit, expressing confusion. "I lost my right eye when I was attacked by some Zerg. This is an ocular implant which functions just like a normal eye. But due to my job, this one allows me to see farther and also see better in the dark" X explained

"Rarity, correct?"

"I'm glad you remember my name. What I would like to know is what was that suit you were wearing" She asked, her mind racing with possibilities about creating new clothes with such material

"It's a Nix-class infiltration suit. It allows me to cloak indefinitely giving me the opportunity to use my psionics on other task. Though the psi-enhancer probably got damaged when I got here. Meaning that I'll have to cloak the hard way"

"It's unique and stylish, I would love to recreate such a thing. I would be ecstatic if you would allow me to experiment on the fabric. Would you allow me that opportunity?"

"...First time someone has asked me such a thing...I'll think about it"

They would spent most of the day getting to know each other. The ponies discovered many things about him and his kind. They learned about large metallic ships that allowed travel between the stars, how the Terrans looked like, the life of a Dominion Ghost. X learned some history of Equestria, how two princesses could rule together without causing any strife, but more importantly he learned about the Elements of Harmony.

When night arrived, each pony headed towards their room. To prevent him form getting lost, Twilight led X to his room. On their way he noticed a change in the security. The guards were different than the ones he saw when he arrived. It was Luna's night-guard that now patrolled the halls.

_So its true...they share their power without complaint and whit honor...wish the same could be said for Terrans_

"Well this is it" said Twilight upon arriving at his room

"Thank you for taking the time to guide me here" X replied

She gave a quick smile at him "My pleasure"

"What will I do tomorrow?" X asked

"Well, Dash is excited about helping you train with your wings, even Fluttershy agreed to try and help you. So I guess you may spent most of the day learning how to be a pegasus"

"Hmm. Understood"

"I also wanted to ask you something before you go to sleep?"

_More questions...hooray _"Yes?"

"Are you still mad?"

"About what?"

"About what happened in the hospital, when I entered your mind. Are you still angry?"

"My mind is all I have left...what memories I have is all that defines me. I pushed you out because I do not wish to lose them nor do I wish to share them. But you did not know that... so the answer to your question is no, I'm not angry"

Twilight gave a sligh sigh of relief. In the end she didn't mean to cause trouble to anypony.

"Your curiosity is commendable, in a way it reminds me of me. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get some sleep. I believe that tomorrow I'll be awakened pretty early in the morning. Goodnight"

"Goodnight X" she replied, closing the door softly

He laid on his bed and began to think about what the ponies told him. _"Elements of Harmony...All of them were an element...does that mean that everyone has an element?...if so then I can think of a couple that would apply to me... wouldn't fit in the category of Harmony though..._

X slowly drifted of in sleep, sealing himself once more in his mind with his psionics. But unknown to all that were in the castle, he was being watched closely.

_I have to say, he could be the one to end up helping me. A pony that has seen so much chaos can dish out some as well. He's got potential, but I'll have to play my cards right if I don't want to spent an eternity as a decoration. For now, sleep well my friend, soon you and I will be spreading some much need chaos in their boring lives._

* * *

**_Because we all love cliff hangers, right? A voice in the dark... makes one wonder... Anyway, if you spot anything such as grammar errors or misspelling go ahead and tell me. Sure as hell annoys me when I go all confident and then end up looking like a fool thanks to something I spelled wrong. Feel free to leave a comment about what you think so far. Hope you enjoyed what you've read!_**


	4. Flight school is in session

Chapter 4:

"..._What you did is inexcusable, we lost several contracts thanks to your actions"_

"_I did my job, not my fault they were in the way"_

"_You behave like a damn Ghost"_

"_Could it be because I am one?"_

"_You are a Shadowguard, you swore your service to the Protectorate and you know we don't kill unless we have no other choice"_

"_Ghosts,shadowguards, specters. Same job, different employer"_

"_It's that kind of attitude that we prefer to remove those damn inhibitors"_

"_And go crazy like the poor bastards that couldn't handle the backlash of emotions? Fuck that"_

"_Yes there are risks, however we have more advanced equipment than the Dominion "_

"_Look doc, I appreciate that you would try to fix me but I don't want to end up in an psych ward for the rest of my life"_

_sigh "At least let us fix the inhibitors. I don't want you to go berserk when in the middle of a fight"_

"_That's not a good thing?"_

"_Not unless you want to get killed"_

"_Will I still continue to participate in the specter program?"_

"_Yes my friend,you'll still get your Terrazine"_

"_Hey give me a break I'm doing it for its beneficial effects"_

"_I'm sure you are, come lets get you back up to standards"_

* * *

His mind faded to black as the dream ended. Slowly he opened his eyes, his vision slowly adapting to the morning sun. As he got off the bed, from outside he could hear that most of the castles inhabitants were up and about. He stretched his body and his wings, this time no longer feeling pain. He flapped them for a moment just to make sure he fully recovered.

_Nothing to it..._

He continued to flap his wings, trying to get used to them. At one point he managed to hover a couple of inches of the ground, but his inexperience caused him to hit several of the furnishings in the room.

"_Guess I should have paid attention to Koln, he was probably the only reaper that wasn't stimed up most of the time"_

Before he could give it a go once more, a knock was heard on his door.

"Yeah?" X said without opening the door

"Finally, you're awake!. It's me Dash, come on, today its the day you learn to fly!"

Opening the door, he was greeted by the hyperactive pegasus. She quickly got on his face "Ready for an awesome day as my apprentice?" Rainbow Dash asked

"Apprentice?" X replied dryly

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'm sure you'll be almost as good as me some day" she replied in a smug tone

_Well aren't we full of ourselves?"_

"Let's go rookie, Master Dash will teach you the ropes of flying today"

X let out a groan. He thought that he was done with training for anything a long time ago. Following her towards the courtyard of the castle, he continued to ponder on the whole Celestia/Luna sharing their power. He wondered if their corresponding guards had different strengths and weaknesses or where they same in terms of abilities. The idea of even partaking in one of their training exercisers did pop in his mind When they arrived at the courtyard, both were greeted once more by Twilight and Fluttershy.

"Good morning X" Twilight said cheerfully

"Hi X" Fluttershy added in a soft tone

X nodded at both of them and turned his attention to the one he didn't want to call teacher

"All right then, first things first. Let's begin by stretching" said Rainbow Dash

"Do I have to?" X asked. All he wanted was to get the lesson over with

"Yes you have to, its all part of the lesson X" Rainbow replied

X looked at Twilight. His expression pretty much said "This sucks, I just want to get to this crap over with" Twilight smiled at him, encouraging him to do what Rainbow Dash would say.

"Psst, Flutter" Rainbow Dash whispered

"Ye..yeah?"

"Help me out here. Do the same thing too, maybe it'll make him feel more comfortable"

"Oh okay" The timid pegasus replied

"Come on X lets begin" Rainbow Dash said, getting his attention "We put our wings up, then down. Up and down"

X reluctantly did what she said. Fluttershy did the same, giving a smile every time he would look at her. For a couple of minutes they stretched their wings, at the same time Twilight took notes of how X was doing, she intended to show them later to the princess in an effort to help him get used to his new life.

"Good morning Twi" a voice behind her startled her

She quickly bowed when she realized who it was "Good morning princess Luna...I didn't know you where here" she said somewhat nervously.

"I apologize for startling you. I'm just here to see how X was doing ,Tia did expresses some concern for him after you all left yesterday"

"What did she say?" Twilight asked

"She's worried about what she saw when she entered his mind" Luna looked at her directly in the eyes "I know you saw part of it as well"

Twilight's face turned somewhat sad "What I saw...I really don't know what I saw"

"Tia showed me a large part of it...Twilight...We must approach his situation with care"

"Well what can we do?" Twilight asked

"She and I are coming up with a way to help him, she wanted to meet up with you after you're done here"

Twilight looked at the three pegasi stretching their wings. Rainbow was counting repeatedly from 1 to 4, Fluttershy was smiling slightly and X had an indifferent look on his face. "I'll will"

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I must be leave, Tia wanted me to deal with some dignitaries" Luna replied. In a bright flash of light she disappeared. Twilight looked at X worriedly, she kept taking notes hoping to come with a solution.

"Phew, right then, now that we're all warmed up we can start officially the lesson"

_Finally... _

"Flying is as natural as walking for a pegasus. You simply flap your wings in a rhythm and before you know it, you're soaring in the skies" As she finished her sentence, she began to fly around. She flew around the courtyard and did a couple of loops before landing.

"See? It's easy. Now you try" she said encouraging him

X stood still for a moment and began to flap his wings wildly. He floated for a couple of inches before he flew back into a wall.

_Ah shit!...that kind of hurt...What the hell did Koln used to say?.. Life of a reaper ain't easy..._

Fluttershy trotted over to him "Take your time, no need to rush" she said in her soft voice

X shrugged off the blow and tried it once more. He listened to Fluttershy's advice and this time flapped his wings in unison. Slowly he gained altitude, getting a bit of a rush from the experience

"Ok... I'll admit that this is kind of cool" said X as he hovered

"Alright nice job!" Rainbow Dash gave him a quick pat on the back. This caused to almost loose his rhythm.

"Now let's try flying around, think you can keep up?" she asked in a smug tone

"Only one way to find out" X replied

Fluttershy hovered in place, looking at both pegasi as they flew around the castle. Rainbow Dash did loops and spirals across the sky, trying to see if X could do the same. It took him a couple of tries but eventually, he could do the same tricks that she did albeit somewhat crudely. They stopped flying around for a moment and went back to the ground.

"You're a natural at it X" said Twilight

"Yeah, You're a pretty fast learner X"

"I have to be" he replied

"Hey, how would you feel if we did a race?" Rainbow Dash asked

Twilight quickly looked at her "Now Dash, X is good at flying but he's still new"

"You sure about that?" said X addressing directly the cyan pegasus

"What's the matter, scared I'll beat you up to badly?" Dash replied, giving of a smug look

X gave a chuckle "You're on!" he exclaimed

Twilight gave an audible sigh. She could see the look on X face. It exuded determination and confidence. "Ok, if you're serious about this. Then I'll make up the rules and you must follow them to the letter"

"Alright then" Rainbow Dash replied in agreement

"Call the shot" added X

After Twilight briefly explained the rules, they both took position and locked eyes with each other. Both of them were smirking. Their intense look on each other worried Fluttershy. She knew that Dash was already good at flying but even though he was a fast learner, X still lacked experience in this area.

"X...be careful, ok?" Fluttershy said

"No need to worry" X replied with great confidence

"Ok, ready guys?" Twilight asked

"Yeah I'm ready!" Dash replied

"X?"

"Come on already!" X replied

"Ok then. On your mark..." Twilight began the countdown

Both their wings were slowly extending.

"Get set..."

They stared at the sky, digging their hoofs on the ground. Ready for lift off

"Go!"

Both took off in an instant, leaving a small dust cloud behind. Twilight was coughing in the wake of the dust "And I thought... _cough_...Rainbow was competitive"

The race consisted of several laps around the castle. Due to her flying most of her life, Dash was ahead most of the time, X decided to use his psionics and increase his speed allowing him to keep up with her. The spectacle attracted the attention of several ponies that inhabited the castle. Some walked over to Twilight to ask her what was going on. When they figured out who were the two that were racing, they began taking guesses as to who would win. Would the bearer of an Element win or would the strange pony defeat her? Several of them made some bets, much to the annoyance of Twilight

"Im going to win X!" Dash yelled at the top of her lungs

"You keep thinking that, It'll just make it all the better for me when I win" X replied giving of a smirk

"Ha, I like your confidence, I kinda feel bad that I'll crush your dream of beating me"

"Keep yapping please, it's going to make your tears all the sweeter"

At the final lap, both reached out for whatever hidden energy they had. All that was left was to land back where they started and the winner would be declared. But as they neared the end, a cloud began to roll in the way. When Rainbow Dash saw it, she slowed down but X instead kept his current speed.

"All to easy" he smirked as he headed straight for the cloud.

"Oh Buck! Wait X, I forgot to tell you, we can't..." It was too late. All the ponies heard a muffled thump. They knew what had happened. A couple of them tried to contain their laughter. One pony groaned as he gave his friend a bag full of coins. Twilight quickly glared at them, slowly they backed of as she continued to look at them angrily

"I hope he's ok" Fluttershy quickly flew towards them.

Rainbow Dash slowly flew towards him. All she could see was the back of the grey pegasus. His face was buried in the cloud and his body was plastered on it as well.

"Uhm,X...Are you ok?" she asked. Getting no reply she poked him to try to get him to move. Fluttershy arrived and hovered next to her

"Is he alright?" she asked with worry in her voice

"I don't know he's now answering me" Dash replied. Once more she poked him "X?"

"Did I just hit a cloud?" X asked, his voiced muffled

"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked him

"Did I just hit...a CLOUD?!" X was unharmed, he did hit a cotton soft cloud after all, he wasn't moving because he couldn't believe what just happened

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. At that point she knew that he was ok.

"I forgot to tell you that pegasi can manipulate clouds, to us it's pretty much like a solid object,a soft solid object" Rainbow Dash replied rubbing the back of her neck

Slowly he peeled himself away from the cloud. When he turned around, Rainbow Dash busted out laughing. X's face now had a cloud mask on and a small impression of his face was also left on the cloud. He wiped it off and looked at her with annoyance.

"Anything else I need to know?" he asked, slight anger coming from his voice

"Su..sure there are a couple of...things I can show you" Rainbow replied, snickering and laughing

She stopped laughing for a moment and taught him what a pegasus could do with clouds. She motioned him to follow her. All three pegasus landed on top of the cloud.

"Well this feels...interesting" X said as he felt the peculiar texture of the cloud underneath his hoofs. He took each step with care as he tried to get used walking on it.

"Here you go X" Rainbow Dash said, handling him a piece of the cloud.

He grabbed it and quizzically looked at it "So what do I do with it?" X asked

"Try giving it a squeeze" her reply left him wondering. She looked at her for second then back at the chunk of cloud. Slowly he squeezed it, he could hear thunder but couldn't see any dark clouds on the horizon, looking back at the cloud he was in awe.

"What the hell?" he said as he looked at the cloud. Now grey, it gave of sparks and even managed to rain a bit

"That's the cool thing about us pegasi, we can manipulate the clouds" Dash said as X continued to look at it with awe "We build our homes on the clouds as well, maybe when we get the chance I'll take you to Cloudsdale, the most awesome place on Equestria"

_So Pegasi, have a passive psionic ability that allows them these sorts of feats...this is a weird,weird world._

"Come on, lets get back to the ground, Twi might be worried" Dash said.

Back on the ground, Rainbow started to laugh again. X was somewhat annoyed at her, he tried to figure out what was the reason for her to laugh again but couldn't figure it out. Fluttershy approached him, and extended her hoof.

She gently grabbed X's face "Hang on, you still have bit of that cloud on you" She swiped the small puff from his face and quickly gave him a warm smile

X cleared his throat "Right then...Umh...Thanks" he replied

"You did good for your first time X" Rainbow Dash quickly gave him another tap on his back "What do you say we go get some cider"

"I appreciate the sentiment but it will have to wait" X replied. He turned his attention to Twilight "Was there something that Luna need?"

She was surprised by his question "Oh, no need to worry . She simply told me that princess Celestia wanted to speak with me" she gave a sheepish smile

"Good, you wouldn't mind if I tagged along right?"

"I...well...I'm sure its nothing important. I sure you would prefer spending some time having fun instead of listening to some boring lecture" She replied giving of a smile once more.

"No need to worry, I just want to ask her a simple question" The way he said that made her even more nervous. Seeing that there was no persuading him from staying with Rainbow and Flutter, she reluctantly led him back to the throne room. As they left Rainbow Dash poked Fluttershy, she pointed to X's and back to her. She raised her eyebrows and made some suggestive looks a her. Fluttershy quickly understood what she meant and blushed.

* * *

"Halt! You may only enter when the princess calls for you, however the beare..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the damn rules" X said as he cut of the guard. The armor clad pony looked at him in annoyance. X went back to the same window when he arrived

"X..."

"I know Twilight, I'll behave" he said as he continued to look outside the window

"Don't worry . It'll just be a moment" she replied. Quickly she entered the throne room

"Good day princess" Twilight bowed her head when she approached the princesses

"Good day Twi, I believe Luna mentioned why I wish to see you"

"Yes, its about your concerns for X"

"Correct, as you know he is an intriguing being full of many stories and experiences. Both good and bad" Celestia said

"Unfortunately most of them are bad" Luna added

"His mind is a battlefield, full of extreme motions. The most profound of them is anger" Celestia said as her face darkened "From what we all saw, he could be a danger to us and to himself. If all of his anger was to arrive in one swift stroke, there's no telling what he might do"

"Well what can we do to help him?" Twilight asked

"Luna and I have come up with a solution" Celstia replied

"We wish to enter his mind and appease his contained fury. We also wish to restore both his memories and his emotions" said Luna

"And you want me to do this alone?" quickly Twilight asked, expressing her concern

"You will have our help of course, but since you were the first one to enter his mind, you know more about him than us" Celestia replied

"Ok, but how can we be sure that he would let us? I saw all that when he was unconscious but when he was wide awake, he kicked me off"

Celestia smiled at her "Well, perhaps we should ask him first. What do you say X?"

X decloaked next to Twilight. Startled, she jumped a few inches in the air "X...I though you were waiting outside" Twiligh said, her voice cracking a bit due to her nerves

"I was tired of waiting" X replied, his gaze fixated on Celestia "So you knew I was here all the time?"

"Yes X, I could sense you since you first entered the room, still wish you didn't knockout the guards outside"

"They'll have a hell of a headache but they will live" X replied

"So you know about our concerns" Twilight asked

"Yes and while I appreciate your unwanted worry, I deny your offer of help" X replied dryly

"But why? We wish for you to be better. We want to help you feel joy again" Twilight said, looking at him straight in the eyes

"If my emotions were to be restored, I would most certainly go insane. To feel all my anger, my sorrow, my regrets... all at once would drive me to madness. I've seen it happen to others, trust me when I say that it's not a pretty sight"

"I'm certain that with our help, you won't suffer from any that. Celestia and Luna are the strongest magic users in Equestria. They can help you if you just let them" Twilight tried to use her charms to convince him to get help

"No, even if they are the strongest psionics in the universe I will not risk what life I have left"

"But..." Twilight tried to plead once more but was cut off

"It's allright Twilight, its his decision after all. However, if you are to stay here for the time being, we need to take certain precautions"

X raised his eyes in question but decided to hear the terms of his stay before voicing any complaints

"You will be monitored by the Elements at all times. Also you will be wearing these" Celestia's horned glowed, she levitated an ornate looking box and opened it. It revealed what looked like a pair of cuffs but without them being bonded. Before X could react, Luna used her magic and quickly cuffed them to his hoofs

"What the hell?" X tried to get them off him using his psionics and his physical strength, but to no avail

"I'm sorry X, but until we find a way to return you back to your world or when you decide to receive our help, you will wear these magic nullifying bands" Luna replied, the look on her face expressed authority. X gave an audible growl, Twilight looked at him now more worried then ever.

"I know you feel angry at us right now, but trust me. We only wish the best for you" Celestia looked at him like a mother would when she didn't want to scold her child, but she knew that it was necessary for him and for everyone.

"Fine, it's not like I can do a damn thing now thanks to this crap. But you better find a way to get me back or I swear that when I get this cuffs off, you will regret ever meeting me" X quickly stormed off. Luna was about to give him a piece of her mind, but Celestia stopped her.

X wait!" Twilight rushed after him

Celestia looked a Luna when Twilight left the throne room "We shouldn't have taken that from him" Luna said angrily

"It's ok sister, he's simply reacting to something he fears, no need to scold him for that" Celestia replied giving a smile "But I believe we may have a way to convince him"

"How?" Luna asked

"By showing him that he has a great life ahead of him"

"X, please wait a moment, X" Twilight kept following him closly

"WHAT?" he angrily replied

She was taken back a bit from his tone but she looked at him with a stern look "Can't you see when someone wants to do you good?"

"X raised one of his hoofs "Does this look like it's doing me good?" He asked focusing his eyes on one of the bands

"Well when you put it ike that...I mean... sigh...Look at it this way, its like medicine. It may taste bad at first but I the end It'll do you good" Twilight replied

"Gee thanks, I feel better already" After giving his sarcastic remark, he entered his room.

"X...X..." She tried to get him to come out once more, but couldn't convince him. She decided it would be best to let him cool off.

* * *

His inhibitors were working at full strength preventing him from going berserk. The rest of the day he spent it in solitude, however when night finally arrived he heard a knock on his door. He wasn't in the mood for anyone, all he wanted was for the day to be over so that he could think clearly on what to do for the next day.

"X...it's me" he recognized the voice, slowly he made his towards the door. Opening it, he was greeted by the yellow pegasus.

"What are you doing here?" X asked

"You didn't come to dinner so I thought it would be best for me to bring you something to eat" Fluttershy replied.

"Thanks" X said when he looked at the small bag full of fruit

"May I come in?" Fluttershy timidly asked "If it's no bother of course"

_Sigh...Out of all of them... it had to be her..._ X nodded and let her in. She took a seat on a nearby chair as X ate some of the bag's contents

"How are you doing?" she asked

"I've been better" X replied, taking a bite of an apple

"I... heard about what happened" Fluttershy said in a soft voice

For a moment he stopped eating, he looked at the bands on his hoofs "Are you here to tell me that I should let them go in my mind?" he asked as he continued to eat

"Well...Its not my place to tell you what to do" she replied

"Wish the others would be as reasonable as you"

Fluttershy approached him and looked at him straight in the eyes "X...I'm not the most courageous pony...but I don't want to see you hurt. Twi and the princesses are the best magic users and I know they won't let anything bad happen to you..." she gave him a hug "...just like me. There's no need to be afraid... everything will be ok if you just give them a try"

X stood for a moment quiet as she continued to embrace him _...Damn it...why do I feel so...strange when she's near me?..._

Sigh... I'll think about it" X replied

She let him go and gave him a warm smile "Thanks X. I better go...have a good night" Leaving the room X was alone once more, he started to eat the rest of his food when a voice caught his attention

"Well, it seems that a certain someone has a soft spot for Kindness, how adorable"

X took a combat ready stance "Who's there?" he asked as he scanned the room

"Me? Well I'm everywhere, like I could be outside the window or under the bed or even inside your eye... speaking of which, where can I get one like that?"

"Show yourself coward!" X yelled, now looking around somewhat frantically

"Coward? I take offense to that sir! I've never been hiding from you, you simply haven't taken the time to look down!" the voice replied

"Great, even the lizards of this world talk" X saw the small Discord waving at him.

"I'll have you know that you are talking to the great Adrios Colsis Discordious, but you may call me Discord"

"Nice meeting you, now get the hell out" X replied

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" Discord said, in a puff he disappeared and appeared on top of his back "Nice pair of wings you have, robust and young"

"Get off me!" X began to buck in an effort to get him off

"Giddyup!" Discord now sported a cowboy hat and continued to him him on his flank

"GET OFF!" X slammed his back on the wall. When he turned around he saw Discord slammed on the wall, X thought he severely injured him considering the way his body was bending "Good riddance"

"That was fun, lets go again!" Discord replied, clearly nothing happened to him

"What do you want?" X replied his green eye now glowing brighter

"Me? Well I would like to help you" Discord replied "May I ask why your eye suddenly became brighter?"

"I'm looking for weaknesses in your body so that next time you won't walk" X replied turning his back to him "Unfortunately I don't see any"

Discord began to laugh "See this is why I like you, you say such things without batting an eye, but I digress, what I want is to help you"

"How can a 3 inch lizard possibly help me?" X asked

"I can do what sweet Celestia can't... " He replied as he poked the silver bands on his hoofs

X looked at him with interest "And how exactly would you do that?" X asked

"I wasn't always a 3 inch lizard as you so crudely putted, I used to be a powerful being, capable of willing many things in existence and capable of doing even more. That is, until those pesky 6 ruined my fun"

"And why would they do that?" X asked

"I saw how dreadfully boring their lives were so I decided to give them some much needed chaos, but they thought that was bad so they imprisoned me and my powers inside a statue"

"Your prison is... a statue?" X replied, trying to wrap his head on that fact

"I know, it's so hard to believe that I would be reduced to a mere decoration" Discord replied "But we can help each other"

"Let me guess, you want me to free you?" X said

Discord brought out a small party popper "Ding ding! We have a winner everyone" X looked at him I annoyance as the brightly colored streams got on his face

"If I free you... you will no doubt cause problems for everypony here" X replied

_I can't believe I just said that..._

Discord appeared on top of his head "Perhaps, but think about it. With my power restored I could sent you back to your world"

X was silent for a moment as he considered his proposal "You don't owe them anything...on the contrary, they owe you for taking away your freedom" Discord whispered in his ear

"... you better keep your word. I may now know what you are capable of but you don't know anything about me either"

"Ah but I do, you see we are very much a like. We have limited freedom and our powers have been taken away from us by the same bloody pony" Discord replied as he looked at a scroll full of writings "Those are just two, shall I keep going?"

"No" X replied with an anoyed tone in his voice

"So partners?" Discord asked rising an eye in question

"For now" X replied as he headed for his bed

"Then it's settled. You'll free me and I'll get you back to where you belong...where are you going?" Discord asked

"To sleep" X replied as he got under the covers

"All righty then, I'll see you tomorrow business partner" Discord disappeared in a puff leaving X alone once more

_Hmm...I wonder what would happen if those inhibitors were to "accidentally" go off...Eh, I'll figure it out when I get to it. But now, I'll just give a small chuckle of victory...he,he... no, no that's wrong... HA,HA,HA!" Ah there we go, much better_

* * *

**_ Shady deals with a Chaotic entity...what could possibly go wrong? Meh, I'll let you guys run wild with your imagination. Anyhow, that's the end of this one now unto the next! Till then, have a good day. Oh and happy holidays/endotheworld day_**


	5. The only way back home

Chapter 5:

Gunfire could be heard...screams of men and women could be heard all over...burning buildings light up the night sky...A lone figure in the middle of a a bloodied street stood still... looking at all the carnage... bright green eyes loomed over a man pleading for his life...pointing a rifle at the hapless civilian...

"_All of this...is because of you..."_

"_No, damn it, NO!"_

"_All these lives are gone, not by my hand but by yours... the bloodied hands of a traitor..."_

"_No it's not my fault! I tried to help them!"_

"_Your betrayal is the reason that these people died... for whatever good you try to do, it will never redeem you of your past"_

"_SHUT UP,SHUT UP!" _

It's bright eyes stared at him, hate and rage emanating from it. Noticing a gun pointing at him, he tried his best to move but found it impossible. An unseen force shackled him in place. Until one echoing gunshot ended the torment

X woke up, sweating and panting heavily. He looked at his surroundings almost as if he was expecting an enemy to lunge at him and end his life. He laid his head once more on top of his pillow and let out a sigh.

_It's getting worse...I need to get back before the inhibitors give out or else who the hell knows what will happen._

Looking around his room once again, he was greeted by the morning sun's rays. Slowly they crept into the room, he could here chattering and commotion outside. No doubt everyone else was already up and about, taking care of their designated tasks or enjoining themselves. Getting of from his bed, he quickly stretched his body, as he did he heard a distinctive poofing sound near him.

"Well, good morning to you!" Discord yelled in an overly happy tone but he didn't receive a reply. Turning around to look at the grey pegasus, he saw X staring outside the window. In another puff of smoke, he reappeared in front of him

"You alright my green eyed friend?" Discord asked. He could notice that something was severely bothering him

"Yeah, I'm fine" X replied as he shook his head

Discord materialized a small teapot "How about a cup of tea to give you some energy for today" he said as he poured some of the liquid into a small cup" It'll perk you right up!"

"How's about you tell me how to get you free" X replied "The sooner I do this the better it will be for all of us"

"You know it's not a good thing to be in a hurry all the time. You may run yourself ragged" Discord said, he took a small sip of tea and looked at it with disdain "Hmm... needs more sugar"

"Thanks for the advice, now tell me what to do"

"Alright,alright. Take it easy." Discord said, poofing once more this time on top of his head "First you need to go to the garden and find my statue"

"The garden? Why would they keep you in a garden instead of having your statue either locked up or hidden away?

"Simply because it's a harmonious place. Too much if you ask me" Discord replied "The very ambiance of that place contributes to the magic that has me sealed"

"So what? I go there and smash some flowers and then you'll be free?" X said, his task was far to simple. He didn't like it when things sounded simple as it would usually mean that something could either go horribly wrong or a trap was waiting to be sprung

From his tone of voice, Discord knew that X was weary of a possible catch to his deal "I know it sounds easy, but afterward comes the hard part"

"That would be?" X asked as he raised an eyebrow

"Dealing with the contingents of Royal Guards who will try to stop us and then there's the matter of the princesses of the Sun and Moon"

"If you get these bands off me, then I'll have access to my psionics. That shall make it easier to deal with the guards and princesses"

"Whoa, hold on there!" Discord tugged his ears slightly "I have no doubt that you are gifted in magic, but against the two of them? You wont stand a chance!"

"You haven't seen me in action" X replied exuding confidence in his voice

"And you haven't seen them either. Trust me, I'll deal with them" Discord said as he laid on X's back. A wicked grin ran across his face "After all, I have a score to settle with those blasted ponies"

"Fine then, let's get this thing over with" X said as he exited the room, Discord making himself small enough to hide in his mane

* * *

"So I'm gonna watch him first?" Applejack asked

"No way! There's still some lessons he needs to learn so I'm going to watch over him!" Rainbow exclaimed getting right on her face. Seeing the two bickering got Twilight on edge, she wanted silence so she could focus on her research but with them having another debate it would be impossible. She finally snapped and gave them a stern look

"Girls! It doesn't matter who watches him, so long as we keep an eye on him like the princess mentioned. It's alright if you both want to watch him" Twilight replied as she picked a book

"Now please, I need some silence to focus"

"Well then, how about we both watch him" Applejack said. Rainbow nodded in agreement "What will you gals be doing in the mean time?"

"Since X is not a pony per se, I have no idea how he will react to the Elements. I need to figure out if it will help him or if he might end up suffering any unwanted effects. I'll spend my time here in the library until it's my turn to watch him" Twilight replied, quickly she buried her head on a book, taking notes at the same time.

"What about you Rarity?" Applejack asked

"I'll take the opportunity to finish some designs I have in mind. I sure hope he grants me the opportunity to try out the material of that suit" Rarity replied, her mind coming up with many possibilities

"Flutter?" Dash asked as she looked at the timid pony

"Well... since you're already going to watch him... I'll wait for my turn then. I wouldn't want to overwhelm him" she timidly replied

"Ok then, let's get going. I want to race him again!" Dash exclaimed as she left the room

Before leaving Applejack turned around "By the way, any one seen Pinkie?" she asked

"Knowing her, she's probably getting a party ready for X. After all he still hasn't been officially welcomed by her. She'll turn up soon enough" Twilight replied as she looked at another book

Applejack nodded at her and left the room. Once again, Twilight focused on the book she was reading when she heard a soft voice "Um...Twi...can I ask you something?" Fluttershy said as she slowly walked towards her

Twilight would prefer to keep focusing on her books but opted to answer the pegasus question "Sure, what's on your mind?" Twilight asked

"Well...its about...stallions...is there something they really like?" Fluttershy asked

Twilight stood silent for a moment, trying to figure out why she would ask such a thing "I guess it depends on who it is. One must consider their personality and other traits to figure out what they might like"

"What about... nice things? Like flowers...because I was thinking about getting some for X..."

"Wait, for X?" Twilight pondered for a moment. She put together the meanings behind her questions when she understood what she was trying to say "Flutter, do you...like X?"

Fluttershy blushed at her words and nodded slowly. Twilight and Rarity looked at each other with surprise "Last night, I went to his room. We talked and then I hugged him... only when I did it... it felt very nice... like when I go out to pick flowers... only even better"

"Well dear, it looks like you may be falling for him"" Rarity replied

The yellow pegasus stood there blushing "I think you should try giving him some flowers, I have a feeling he would like that" said Twilight

"You really think so?" Fluttershy asked

Twilight gave her a smile and nodded. "Okay, I'll go to the castle garden to pick some for him" Flutter replied as she left the room

Rarity quickly turned towards Twilight "X and Fluttershy?"

"I believe X may have a soft spot for her, I could tell there was something going on with him when she was near him" Twilight said as she continued to read her books

"You are perceptive" Rarity replied, focusing on her work as well

Arriving at the garden, X was greeted with the sigh of many flowers of various colors, shapes and sizes. He walked around the garden looking for the statue. The happy chirping of the birds were slowly grinding on Discord's mind. For a quick second he popped his head from X's mane to look around only to feel sick to his stomach

"Ugh, I really can't take it anymore" he said, hiding once more in X's mane

"What's wrong with you?" X asked. He could feel Discord shuffling around his mane

"What's wrong?! Look around! All of this harmony and sweetness, is driving me to sanity" Discord replied

X gave him a quizzical look "You're going...sane?"

"What kind of a chaotic being will I be if I'm alright in the head?! Sanity is the essence of order and that is just so bloody boring!"

"First time I've heard someone complaining about going sane" X replied. He kept walking around the garden, looking for the statue that held his freedom. Not an easy task as the garden was pretty extensive. He took flight for a moment and looked down at the garden, using his optic implant he scanned around every inch of it until he saw it. Swooping down on it's position, X looked at the statue depicting a Discord looking away in agony and fear. Almost as if something was causing him harm.

"This is it" X said. Quickly Discord jumped out and stood in front of X

"Alright, now you have to spread some chaos. An easy task for one such as yourself" Discord said giving him a smile

X looked at the many flowers that were around them, he slowly walked towards them and then began to stomp them. He felt silly for doing such a trivial thing. But if it meant that it would get him back to Umoja, then so be it. Discord was smiling all the time as he saw the grey pegasus destroying them, he heard a pair of birds chirping happily above a nearby tree branch.

"Deal with that awful sound while you're at it" Discord yelled. X complied, he approached the tree and with all his strength, bucked as hard as he could scaring off the birds.

Fluttershy could hear a commotion nearby, she decided to inspect what was causing all the ruckus and what could be interrupting the happy melodies of the birds. Her face turned to shock and horror, seeing X stomping and killing them. It made her swell up with emotions raging from sadness to rage against him.

"Why would you do this?" she said in a soft tone to herself, tears slowly rolling on her face. Before she confronted the pegasus, she looked at Discord's statue and notice that it was breaking. Once again she was stunned when she saw a miniature Discord smiling and laughing

"Oh no! He must be forcing X to do this... if this keeps up he'll be free... I better warn the others!" Fluttershy quickly scampered off, hoping that her warning would be on time

Discord gave out a content sigh, he could feel himself getting stronger. Turning around, he could see that cracks were beginning to appear in his statue. As X continued his flower killing spree, Discord slowly began to vanish. The cracks now getting more and more prominent until a bright light blinded X momentarily.

X regained his vision and now stood in front of a large Discord "OH YES! DOES IT FEEL GOOD TO BE BACK!" Discord yelled, he stretched all his limbs

"Still can't believe all I had to do was this, feel like a damn fool" X muttered as he approached him

"Now, now no need to feel down my friend. Look at it this way, its so simple that who would think about doing it"Discord replied as he sat down a large throne that appeared from thin air

"Things this simple don't sit to well by me" X said

"Then allow me to cheer you up" Discord snapped his fingers, quickly the bands on X's hoofs disintegrated "You really shouldn't over complicate your life, it's bad for your health"

X could feel his body back to normal. He could feel the psionic energy concentrating heavily in his mind, almost begging to be used. "Finally, back to being a psion"

"See? I treat my friends right. Now what say we pay a visit to sweet Celestia and her lovable sister, Luna?" X nodded in approval, both began to make their way towards the throne room.

* * *

"Tia, I told you we should have been stricter with him" Luna said as she paced around the throne

Celestia stood still, her eyes closed as if she was meditating "As I said before, everything will be ok"

"How can you be so calm when we have Discord and a raging pony helping him?" Luna replied looking directly at her eyes

"It's not Discord, but what could happened to X that worries me" Celestia said as she stood from her throne

"You're worried about him? What he's done merits a lifetime of imprisonment not some misguided pity!"

"Discord has him fooled, as soon as we deal with him, then we'll focus on X" Celestia replied. Turning her attention towards Twilight and her friends she addressed them "My faithful student Twilight, I know you and your friends have worries for X. But assure you that he shall not come to any harm. You must focus on Discord and leave him to us"

"Yes princess" Twilight replied. All the ponies bowing to her and Luna. The six elements gathered together and readied themselves for what was about to enter the room. Each took their respective amulets and gathered in a circle

"Jeez, what's going on with X?" Applejack said "He knows that Discord is bad news, so why help him?"

"He thinks Discord can get him back to his home, that's why he's helping him" Twilight replied

"Don't worry, I'll knock some sense into X!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she hovered in the air and shadowboxing at the same time

"I really hope this doesn't take too long, there's still several things left to get ready!" Pikie exclaimed, bouncing in the same place over and over

Fluttershy stood silent as her friends discussed the matter. Twilight noticed her brooding and walked towards her "Don't worry, we'll help him Flutter" The yellow pegasus looked at her, she could feel the confidence of her friend and thought that everything will turn out for the better. She smiled at her friend.

"HALT! IN THE NAME OF..." before he could finished his sentence, X entered the armored clad unicorn's mind and upon sighting his main nervous center, proceeded to disable him. The guard fell over unconscious as other began to rush him.

"Ten against one? Not fair, they should have at least sent more at once" Focusing his mind, X launched a psionic wave at the group of guards approaching him. The attack was as if a gale of wind entered the hallway, knocking all of them into the walls and furnishings rendering most unconscious in the process

"Over there!" yelled out an Earth pony guard. Several others joined the charge. X tried to use the same tactic of entering their minds and incapacitating them but found it very difficult.

_Hmm...so the earth variant is more resistant to mental attacks...fine by me, I'll do this the old fashion way_

Right as the lead guard was about to tackle him, X quickly bucked him right under his chin. The force of his hit, sent the guard stumbling back. Using his psionics, he focused them on his limbs. Now having higher reflexes and a stronger hitting power, he began to beat down on all that approached him. Amidst the waves of guards that came after him, there would be some pegasi that would attempt to strike him from the air, but being one himself, he would take the fight to the sky and sent them crashing back towards the ground. X continued to fight until he reached the throne room's door. Standing between him were one last group of guards.

"If you don't want to have a mind fray, I suggest you stand aside" X said giving off a smug look

All the guards stood silent, looking at him with anger. Two of them rushed him, but quickly were put down by his psionics, another one tried to surprise him with an air attack however this one suffered the same fate as his two companions. One last guard stood ready, X tried to enter his mind but couldn't.

"I've sealed my mind with magic" said the unicorn "You won't take me out that easily"

"Good, it was starting to get boring" X replied, smiling at him

Both rushed each other, X quickly aimed at his opponents hoofs, with the intention of crippling his mobility. But the unicorn saw this and dodge him. In retaliation, he turned around and bucked at X, landing a solid blow to his chest. He stumbled back as the wind was knocked out of him. Before he could recover, the guard lunged at him and aimed at his fore-leg, swiping him of his hoofs.

"Not bad" X said as the unicorn stood over him

"You ain't so bad yourself. For you to go through many of my troops with ease, it shows that your a capable warrior. Maybe after you finally get some sanity, I may put in a good word for you as a possible guard"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline" quickly X swiped at his hoofs, causing the unicorn to fall to the ground. Both stoop up in an instant and readied themselves for a second round. This time X launched a full assault, bucking and swiping at the guard. Most of his attacks hit their mark, the unicorn now had a hard time keeping up. The sudden burst of speed at his opponent troubled him. Before he could properly retaliate, one final buck to the face caused him to fall once more to the ground. He slowly drifted of into blackness as X's now stood over him.

_He fought well...might have been a quicker fight if I knew how to properly use this form... still he did well... _X looked at the unicorn and noticed the mark on his flank. A bright shining shield was depicted. Before he entered the room, a voice called out to him

"Not bad at all, you certainly did well" Discord said as he suddenly appeared on top of him

"Where the hell did you run off to?" X asked shaking his head

"I was watching you from afar, I need to conserve my energy for what lies ahead" Discord replied "Now let's get this amazing streak of good luck going. Onwards my jade eyed friend!"

* * *

"Hello everyone! It's so nice to see you all!" Discord cheerfully yelled as he and X entered the room "Dear Celestia you look ravishing as usual and Luna... you're still alive! That's nice"

Both rulers stared at him, the seriousness of their looks would have driven anypony crazy with fear but Discord saw it as mere stubbornness on their part. "You've all met my friend, right?" X slowly made his way next to Discord. All the ponies in the room looked at him with various looks, ranging from worry,anger and even pity at some point.

Celestia looked t the gray pegaus and addressed him directly "X, you must know that Discord is simply using you. He may promise you one thing but you would never receive it" she said in an effort to reason with him

The chaotic creature leaned over towards X "Don't worry I'll fulfill my part of our deal. But first you must deal with those six" Discord said

"What? I agreed to help you out with the guards and princesses, but never to harm them" X replied

Discord grabbed X's head "Don't go soft on me my friend. Tell you what, I'll give you some inspiration" He gave a slight squeeze and let him go, X stumbled back and placed his hoofs on his head. His body was shaking ad his wings were flapping in an erratic manner

"Wha... what the hell did you do to me?!" X yelled, shaking his head

"Well I shut down those pesky inhibitors that prevented you from fully embracing your chaotic side, you can thank me later" X was struggling to contain his mind. Memories ran rampant on his minds, the associated emotions of each one caused him great stain.

"X..." Fluttershy whispered with worry. Celestia land Luna looked at each other and readied their magic, their horns glowing with power.

"Luna, keep X contained while we deal with Discord" Celestia said. Luna nodded at her and charged her magic. She casted a a shield around X trying to keep him form interfering with the bout. Inside X was squirming around, residual energy managed to passed unchecked in his mind. Psionic blasts hit the purple tinted shield. Luna was strongly gifted in magic like her sister, but the strength that X exhibited caught her slightly off guard

"Tia! You best hurry" Luna exclaimed.

"Come on girls, we'll show Discord that Friendship is stronger than his trickery" all the ponies nodded. Focusing on their amulets, the intensity of the magic levitated them all. Discord looked at them with anger, he knew what would happen if he didn't stop them.

"Oh no you don't!" He exclaimed, launching a burst of magic at them. Before it could have impacted them, a beam of light intercepted his attack. Discord turned and looked at both princesses, giving of an audible growl. Before he could attack once more, a bright beam of many colors was heading towards him.

"I will not be turned to stone again!" Discord exclaimed, he directed all of his magical energy at the beam, trying his best to either dissipate it or deflect it. Luna and Celestia added their magic to the beam, slowly it crept towards Discord.

"I shall not return to that blasted garden" The beam stopped a couple of inches away from him. He tried his best to protect himself. X's powers continued to grow, his mind had reached a critical point

_Rage...feed...FEED THE RAGE! _X gave out a mental yell. A large psionic wave hit Luna's shield. It was too much for it to handle, it burst open like a balloon. The wave was like a sonic boom, causing the windows in the room to break. The floor where X was standing cracked under him. The princesses were surprised to see X. Part of his mane covered his left eye, only his bright green eye could be seen. Discord gave of a chuckled, he knew that X was now free from Luna.

"Nice display of chaos my friend, now what say you get those ponies" Discord said, still holding at bay the burst of magic

X continued to struggle with his mind, for a quick second he looked at the spectacle before him. As he looked at Discord a large frown was forming on his face "You...tried to screw me over... you'll pay for that!" X focused his psionics and unleashed a psionic blast. At the same time he dashed towards him, hoping to break a few bones.

Discord felt the psi blast hit him, he flinched for a moment then looked for his attacker. "Why you ungrateful little gnat" he saw X running at him at full speed his green eye looking directly at him. He extended his arm and hit him with all the strength he could muster. The hit sent X' flying back towards a wall. Celestia looked at X with worry, in response to to Discord's attack she focused her magic as well. This gave it enough strength for it to penetrate Discord's defenses

"No, it's too soon!" Discord yelled "I didn't even get to mess with the lives of those in Ponyville" slowly his body was turning gray, his skin slowly turned rock solid with one final yell, he was sealed once more. Slowly Twilight and her friends descended towards the ground.

"We did it" Twilight panted. The ordeal took a toll on her. Fluttershy quickly trotted of towards X. He was on the ground still shaking and his eyes closed.

"X! X!" she yelled. She gently shook his body trying to get him to come about. Seeing that he wasn't responding, she began to sob, until she felt a hoof touching her back

"It's alright dear Fluttershy" Celestia said "I'll do my best to help him"

"As will I" Luna added

Fluttershy looked back at the stallion, he was slowly moving his head and mumbling. The rest of the ponies approached them, a saddened look was on their faces. The yellow pegasus embraced X as several ponies wearing doctor's clothing arrived. They picked up X and left the room, the six Bearers following closely behind

"You're majesty, the guards aren't severely injured. Just some bruises and some magical induced headaches" said one of the medical ponies

Celestia gave out a sigh "That's good to hear" she was deeply worried about her subjects.

"We'll have the best doctors help him"

"No, I'm afraid that this situation requires our intervention" Celestia replied "Luna, please follow me"

Both regal ponies left the room in a hurry.

* * *

**_Well that's the fifth. I shan't lie, I sorta struggled here, the mix of writers block and work can take a toll on one. Even so I hope you like it. If not then eh, what can you do? You're entitled to your opinion... even if you are dead wrong. I kid, anyway let's roll to the next one, hope you have a nice day and it's a couple of days late, but happy new year, hope everything goes better for everyone this year._**

**_P.S. Spelling errors tick me off! You spot anything go ahead and set me a blaze with a PM. I'm gone._**


	6. To save a life

Chapter 6:

"I'm sorry your majesty, but we haven't been able to make progress in bringing him back" a doctor explained himself to Celestia "We've done our best to try and enter his mind, but it's as if a battle raging inside him, we cannot manage to get solid connection"

"It's as I fear then " Celestia whispered "Thank you doctor for everything you and your colleges have done, but I'm afraid that this situation requires our intervention"

"Very well then, we'll leave this to you" the pony replied as he bowed. After leaving, Luna and her entered the room where X was held. When they both entered, they saw X on a bed. He was slowly shacking his head and sweating. Twilight and her friends were watching them from a glass window. Fluttershy never took her gaze away from X, she tried to contain herself but a sniffle would at times go unchecked.

"Don't worry, he'll be alright" Twilight said in an effort to comfort her. The yellow pegasus looked at her and smiled briefly before looking back at X. Both princesses got at his side and looked at each other intently

"Are you ready Luna?" Celestia asked

"Yes, let's begin sister" Luna replied. Both of their horns began to glow. Several medical ponies stood at attention in case anything went wrong. The room stood quiet as the room was illuminated by magic.

* * *

Rain began to pour. Lightning would occasionally strike, revealing the destroyed buildings that surrounded the vicinity. A single figure stood out midst the destruction. Slowly it walked around the streets, pausing at times to look around. Clearly looking for something, yet still not managing to find what it looked for. For several long minutes it continued to search, ignoring the downpour that continued to fall

"Where could he be?" the voice clearly belonged to a woman "X!" she called out, looking around for any signs of life.

She continued to search around the town, eventually she stumbled unto a large building, it resembled a clock tower albeit extremely damaged. Staring at it intently, she quickly gave out a sharp gasp when lightning struck. For a moment, she saw a humanoid shadow where the clock once stood. Immediately she entered the building and made her way to the top, taking careful steps to avoid destabilizing the building. Arriving at the top, she began to look around, avoiding the debris that was around her.

"X? Where are you?" she asked, the downpour outside, still raging, echoed across the interior.

"X, please answer me" she said once more, this time she received a reply

"What are you doing here?" a voice asked

"I'm here to help you X. To bring you back" she replied, still searching for him

"You've wasted your time, there's no helping me. No reason to"

"Yes there is, please tell me where you are" the woman said, once again only the sound of rain was the only thing she could hear "X?" She slowly walked towards the source of the voice. A large bolt of lightning lit up the night sky, when she saw him sitting near the large hole that once held a clock. A green light where his eye should be was the telltale sign that it was X

"Why do you persist?" X asked staring outside. A rifle sat near his leg, his hand on top of it ready to pick it up and use it.

"Because I believe that you deserve to live and be happy" she replied as she approached him

"No such thing as happiness, only misguided optimism and delusions of life" X replied looking at her "Go back Luna, leave me to wither in peace"

She ignored his last statement, instead she got closer and sat across him. What little light entered the room showed her navy blue skin. She was wearing a black shirt depicting a crescent moon and a pair of dark blue pants that covered her legs. Another moon was depicted near her right thigh.

"I won't leave you, I can help you X. All you need is to let me do that" Luna said, she placed her hand right on top of X's

"Do you remember what I said? About me wanting to do right? To fix what wrongs I've done?" X asked, this time looking straight into her eyes

"Yes. I remember X" Luna replied. She noticed that X had a strange metallic looking stick next to him but focused her gaze once more on him

"The void has taken many lives. Mostly due to me. I wonder if I'll ever be able to redeem myself" X said, he slowly gripped his rifle tighter as he continued to talk "I can still hear their cries, pleading for mercy and help. I can see the one who snuffed out the light inside them. The one who use to call me...friend"

* * *

Celestia felt strange. She has entered X's mind without him noticing, but this time it was different now that she was fully immersed in his mind. Her body was no longer equine, she assumed it took the form of a female Terran The first steps were some what awkward for her, but she quickly got the rhythm right and managed to walked without any problems. She noticed a metallic looking slab nearby, curiosity got the best of her, she slowly approached it with hopes of seeing how she looked.

"My word, so this is what a Terran looks like?" she said. The reflection showed a tall woman, pastel white skin and a "mane" with bright colors. She wore a white shirt with a glistening sun embezzled in the center and a pair of brown pants that covered her lower body. She placed her hands on her head, she sighted with relief when she felt her horn and flapped her wings quickly just to make sure everything was where it should be. Celestia spent a couple of minutes, looking at all the features her new body had.

"Focus Celestia, you need to find X" she shook her head and continued her route, passing by the remains of the siege tank that served as a makeshift mirror. For a while she wandered around the wasteland, passing by wreckage of vehicles along the way. Until something resembling the sound of thunder got her attention. As she ran she continued to hear more "thunder". She wondered what could be causing such a sound as not a single cloud could be seen for miles. Only a bright sun was up in the sky, shining at it's fullest extent. When she got closer she was shocked to see X surrounded by many bodies.

"Where is he?!" Celestia could hear him yelling, as she got closer she saw X grabbing another Terran by the throat with one hand. The other was brandishing a small pistol

"ANSWER ME!" the figured yelled, it's voice boomed across the landscape. He tighten his grip causing an audible bone breaking sound that disturbed Celestia

"X!" Celestia exclaimed. A bright green eye turned around and looked at her. As X turned around , he let his grip go. Allowing the other Terran to fall to the ground, but as soon as it made contact, he shot the man without even looking down.

"You..." X said, hatred emanating from his tone of voice "Are you here to finish me off?"

"I'm here to help you X" Celestia replied. She noticed that X had a knife in his hand. He was twirling it as he got closer

"How? By taking away my psionics again?" X said, slowly approaching her "Or are you going to take away what's left of my mind?"

"No, I do not wish to take anything from you. On the contrary, I want to give you a chance at life"

"Life?" X chuckled "An overrated concept, that holds no meaning anymore" X said as he pointed his gun at at her. In an instant, Celestia's horn glowed and drawing her magic, created a barrier around X. He emptied the entire gun with hopes that it would have broken the golden barrier, yet the bullets simply bounced of it without making a dent

"I do not wish to fight you X!" Celestia exclaimed

"Good, It'll make it all the easier to deal with you" X began to strike the golden barrier with all his might. Celestia just stared at him, pitying him as he tried to get to her

"X...you can't let this rage consume you..." she said in a soft voice

"Why not? It's what's been keeping me alive for years" X replied "Like a wise man once said... Rage is the universe best anesthetic"

"Nothing good comes from blind fury, you'll destroy that wish you hold dear"

"If you'd only know what I was forced to live with, what I have been forced to do!" X yelled

"I do X... I've seen your memories" she replied "I know that you were forced to take take the life of your friend"

X stooped his attack for a moment "Pyre..." X whispered.

"This emperor you served... I understand why you would have such rage against him. But you can't let it take over you, other wise you'll lose those that care about you"

"I have no one" X replied dryly

"You have Twilight, her friends, Luna and me. And all of us want the best for you" X was silent upon hearing her words. He stared at the ground as his hands shook. "They have proven that they care about you since they met you. They were the ones who saved your life by getting you to the hospital when you arrived"

"Don't you get it? You've seen my memories so you know that I've been dead for a long time now, so what they didn't doesn't even matter!" I was denied a life. All because of a tyrant... I won't quit...not till the bastard is dead!" He resumed his assault, striking the barrier even harder "I can't quit...Pyre wouldn't want me to quit!" Celestia continued to pity him, she closed her eyes as her horn began to glow once more

* * *

"You can't blame yourself. She didn't give you a choice" Luna said as she looked at him with sadness

"A ghost has several rules to obey, one of them is to not get attached to anyone. Yet she and I broke this rule from the very first day we met" X said as he looked outside "Our superiors would have had us separated from the beginning, but they could see that the two of us were excellent as a team. We were always in perfect synch. So they would sent us on missions together as a fireteam" Luna saw how X's hand was balling into a fist "From the very start they knew... they knew that would be the perfect kill switch if either of us would have gone rouge"

"I found out later why we were so closed to each other...She wasn't my friend... she was my sister... She was the one who showed me how to use my psionics to the fullest extent, she was the one who would vouch out for me, she was the one who would always make sure I was unharmed after a mission" Luna could make out the sadness In his tone of voice. Though his face did not show it, she knew that inside he was crying.

"When the Dominion figured out where I was, they sent her specifically for me. They counted on me to not harm her" X said, turning his gaze outside "But having her mind wipe, she didn't have the same problem as I did. When I look back, I think that all of these people may be alive if I had stayed...maybe even Pyre"

Luna looked outside, the intensity of the storm increased as more lighting strikes lit up the tower. She looked back at him, stood up for a moment then sat right next to him. She extended her arm and embraced him.

"Then you would have never been a free man" Luna said "You would have never met the doctor that you mentioned, never have met the people of Umoja... never have met her"

X looked at Luna, slowly he picked up the rifle. Luna looked at him as he contemplated it. She still didn't know what it was, but she assumed that it wasn't good for either of them.

"She cares a lot about you X... and though you may either not know it or even deny it. You do too" Luna said softly

"...Can I ever be redeemed?" X asked "Can I ever be forgiven for my actions?"

"Yes. I can speak from experience that there is a thing as a second chance" X felt truth to her words. The way she said that had a hint of remorse. "You just have to accept a helping hoof or in this case, a helping hand to send you on the right path"

X leaned his head towards her. He gave out a sigh as he briefly looked at his rifle "I'm tired of being a tool of death. I just want to do right from here on out." he tossed the rifle to the open hole and looked back at Luna "Do what you have to do. I won't fight you, not anymore"

She smiled at him and embraced him once again. X closed his eyes as he felt Luna's presence take over part of his mind.

"Look! Princess Luna is back" a doctor exclaimed, immediately several nurses entered the room and approached her.

"No need to worry, I'm fine" Luna said to calm everyone down

"Your majesty is X?" twilight asked with worry in her tone of voice

"I've done my part Twilight, now the rest is up to Tia" She turned around towards them. Celestia was still next to X, her eyes closed and her horn glowing "She's the only one who can stop his rage"

* * *

"LET ME OUT!" X yelled as he struck the barrier. But right as he was about to hit it once more, the barrier vanished causing him to stumble but he quickly regained his stance

"X...I can't force you to change... but I also cannot reason while you are in this state. I'm right here, you may take your best shot" Celestia said as she closed her eyes. A wicked smile went across X's face, she wants to be a sitting duck? Then that was fine by him. He ran towards her, his hands ready to shed her blood. He cocked his arm back and lunged with all his might. Celestia simply stood there smiling. However, she was unharmed as she simply sidestep his attack .

"What the?" X said, he looked around for her only to see Celestia right behind him

"Like I said X, I'm right here" she said in a soft voice. X stared her down and swung again. Once more, he missed. The way Celestia moved implied that she was faster than him by a long shot

_What the hell is going on?!_ X asked _No one can be that fast, not even by boosting their abilities through psionics! _ He continued to hit the air as he attempted to strike her down. She simply moved from side to side evading him all the time. He couldn't figure out how she could dodge his attacks with ease.

"You certainly are fast..." While X was in the middle of swinging his arm, Celestia managed to poke him on the forehead "But you leave yourself exposed to counterattacks too often."

_There's no damn way she could have done that _X thought as he continued to wonder how she accomplished such a task

_And yet I did X _Celestia replied to him giving off a warm smile in the process. X was surprised by her, how could she reply to him telepathically "You're leaving your mind exposed as well. But i can understand that you're not concentrating on your mind right now"

The very ground were X stood began to crack as his psionics were receiving a rage boost. Celestia simply stood and watched. "I'll kill you!" X launched bolt after bolt of psychic energy at her. At one point, it kicked up a small dust cloud obscuring Celestia from him. When the dust settled, he again was surprised by her.

"Now that you've had your little outburst, are you feeling better now?" Celestia asked as she sat upon a small rock, looking at her nails

X gave an audible growl "That's it, I'm finished with you!" X focused his mind. While he didn't finish his specter conversion, he managed at one point to unleashed one of strongest ability available to a psionic individual. Placing his hands on his temples, his body began to glow in an ethereal hue. He intended to end her with one swift and brutal attack.

"I want to see you try and survive this!" He felt his body go numb as he unleashed his energy. Such a feat would drain a specter of his energy regardless of who it was. X was giving of a smirk as the area exploded in psychic energy kicking of another dust cloud that lingered for several more minutes. Not even an Ultralisk would be able to shrug of a psionic lash without it being severely injured. X gave out a chuckled, feeling satisfied with his actions "Good night dear princess" a smirk ran across his face, but as the dust cloud dissipated, so did his attitude

"...No fucking way..." X said in a low voice. Celestia was still sitting on that same small rock just giving of a smile. He actually felt somewhat scared "There's no way you could have come from that unscathed"

"And I believe you. Then again, I have many years of magic experience so I know how to counter such an attack" She replied. She stood up and began walking towards him. X took a step back and readied himself once more. But spending his energy the way he did, exhausted him and he struggled to stand up. For every two steps that Celestia took, he would back away. He knew that at this point, him being exhausted and with no one to give him back up, he was done.

X was panting heavily "I... I have no choice... I can't even stand without feeling like I'm about to topple over. Just hurry up and finish it" X closed his eyes. He expected the Void to finally come for him, only to receive an embrace from Celestia

"I do not wish you any harm, only happiness and joy" she said, looking at him tenderly"You've known only rage,betrayal and sorrow for far too long. Now you have a chance to change that into something else. Something worth living for"

X stood silent. His panting was all that Celestia could hear from him "You know that she would want the same for you" His eyes widened up when he heard those words

"Pyre..." X whispered "...You can do whatever you want...I just... I just want to be at peace" Celestia smiled at him, her horn began to glow even brighter than before

_X...You tried to save me...Don't let my death cause you any pain...Live, for both of us... "_Pyre" X whispered once more as Celestia extended her wings and wrapped them around him. He felt calm as her presence took over his mind.

* * *

X opened his eyes, his vision took a brief moment adjusting to the light entering the room. He felt strange, not feeling a burning rage or a soul crushing sadness. Before he blacked out all he could think about was revenge, now that feeling was gone. As he tried to move to get up from the bed, he felt something on his chest. When he looked down, he saw a familiar yellow pegasus sleeping.

Feeling movement, Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes "X! You're awake" she exclaimed as she hugged him

X blushed slightly, he cleared his throat "How...how long was I out?" X asked

"You've been asleep for nearly three days now" Twilight replied right as she entered the room. She was accompanied by both princesses and her friends

"We're not interrupting you two are we?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy quickly let him go, both ponies were blushing

"I've been out for three days? What exactly happened?" X asked "I remember being in the throne room and then... oh hell, I screwed up" X said as he placed a hoof on his face

"We can't change past events X. The important thing is that Discord is sealed once more and you are well" Celesta replied

"What about you're guards?" X asked "I went through many of them"

"Thankfully, just some bruises and lots of headaches. Nothing of the serious nature"

"That's good to hear... but still after what I did... I put in danger the lives of many innocents beings. You have every reason to despise me" X said as he looked at each of them "I won't hold it against any of you"

"Even though you kinda messed up, I don't see why any one of us would hate you" Twilight replied

"You're still my number one student!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed

"I still haven't seen you dancing at my... Oops, spoiler alert! I can't tell anything about the next chapter!" Pinkie said as she bounced in place "Which reminds me, I need to get more blanks for the super duper blank!"

_... And i thought I was eccentric _X quickly thought _If she were to stumble upon some terrazine... I can't even imagine the consequenses_

X looked at them, each were giving him a friendly smile _After what happened... They would forgive me that easily? I don't think I'll ever be able to understand this world_

Sigh "Celestia, Luna... What exactly did you do to me?"

"We did like we said" Luna replied "We helped you"

"You're mind was being overtaken by all your emotions. To feel everything all out once would have certainly driven you mad" Celestia added "Which is why we both took the initiative to relieve you of such a strain. The two emotions that were strongly acting up were regret and anger"

"We couldn't just stand by and watch you lose yourself. It's not how we do things around here"

"So, my inhibitors are shut down and I still have the ability to reason... I've don't tend to say this very much... Thank you, you've saved me from a life sealed in a padded room. I am forever in your debt"

Celestia and Luna both smiled and nodded at him. The ponies in the room began to converse with him, Twilight asked question after question. Rarity continued to ask about his suit. Rainbow constantly told him that she wanted to race with him again. X tried his best to answer all of them.

Fluttershy could see that X was being overwhelmed by them "Umm, Girls... I think it would be best if X rested for a while" she said

"Twilight, I promise that your question will be answered. I'll race you again after I get out of here and I have no idea how are you going to fix it, but I'll let you take a look at my hazard suit" Hearing this Rarity's eyes lit up with joy

"Ok then, but I won't take it easy on you again" Rainbow replied

X gave out a chuckle "Who says you were going to win in the first place?" X said with a smug look on his face

"Thank you X, I know I can be somewhat intruding and I'm sorry for that" Twilight said

"No need to apologize, like I said before. You remind me of myself, nothing wrong with curiosity"

"Do you think you can teach me some of your magical abilities?" she asked with hope in her tone of voice

"Only if you teach me yours" X replied

"It's a deal" Twilight said with joy

They were all conversing among each other, when a nurse entered the room. It was very same pony X saw when he tried to escape the hospital. "Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting but Mister X here requires his medication" she said as she laid a tray on top of a table

"Medication? I feel fine" X replied

"You were running a fever when you arrived. No need to worry, this won't take long" as she said that, she picked up a needled full of medicine. Upon sighting it, X's eyes widened open and he backed up against the bed in such a manner that if looked as if he would have broken the wall behind him

"Oh no the hell with that!" X exclaimed. When his inhibitors were running, they would suppress any feelings of fear or anxiety. When they began to give out, it would cause him to cringe a bit when faced with any situation that would have scared a normal Terran. Now that they were fully turned off, his fear of needles fully manifested itself into full blown phobia.

"It won't take long and you won't feel a thing" the unicorn tried to reason with him. But X continued to hide his body under the sheets. Some of the ponies in the room were chuckling quietly. The sight of him being scared was not something that they expected

Fluttershy cringed a bit as well, even though she wasn't the one that would be injected, yet seeing the sight of X being scared caused her to be brave. She embraced him "X, would you kindly stay still for a moment?" she said in a soft manner

"I am not going to get needled!" X said as he looked at it "I mean haven't you ever heard of pills or liquid medicine?!"

"X, please stay still for her" Fluttershy said, somewhat annoyed at him for not listening to her in the first place

"But..."

"X..." she cut him off. Her tone of voice while low, reflected authority. She gave him a serious look, he had no choice but to comply. Hesitantly, he stood still as the nurse approached him. He looked away, burying his face on Flutter's chest. She began to hum softly, calming him down a bit but not by much.

Rainbow could barely contain her laughter, she along with several of the ponies including the princesses left the room. From outside, X could hear them laughing.

_Goddamn it...I'm never going to live this down..._

* * *

**Another one bites the dust. I apologize if I utilized to many horizontal lines in this one, but I did not want to risk possible confusion for anyone. A heads up, the next chapter will take a while to post as I need to focus on an important task. I do not plan on cancelling this, it's just one of those unexpected things that needs to be taken care of. Anyhow, I won't keep you anymore, as always hope you enjoyed what you've read and have a nice day. Until next time.**_  
_


	7. Going forward

Chapter 7:

"Quick and painless... yeah right" X said aloud as he rubbed his right flank "About as painless as a hydra spine to the face" he looked around his room, the sunlight was his only source of illumination. He spotted a vase on top of a table and decided to try out if his psionics were still available to him

sigh "Thank God I still have them" X said with relief as the vase floated gently in the air. Some psionic users ended up with their abilities drastically decreased or even completely gone after experiencing such a meltdown of the mind as the one he went through. However, where there's the risk about losing them there's the possibility of having them stronger than before.

"Wonder if I'll be able to that now..." X said as he closed his eyes. With the vase still floating in the air, he focused his mind and imagine a copy next to it. A slight headache started to bother him. The more he focused, the more the pain increased.

It soon proved to much for him to handle, he rub his temples trying to ease the pain "Ah, damn... Have to take it easy. After my display against Discord, I need to let them cool-off" Giving out a sigh, he carefully placed the vase back on the table and threw himself on the bed.

_...Wonder if I'll ever make it back... Celestia said that she'll try to figure out a way to send me home and I can believe that she'll definitely do her best...but goddam is she taking her sweet time...Need to also keep in mind that she can read my thoughts, don't know about Luna and the other unicorns around here if they can do the same...won't be easy to keep them to myself now that the inhibitors are gone. Then again, where's the fun in things being easy?_

While he was still inside his mind thinking peacefully, a knock on his door ruined his concentration. X groaned slightly as he got up from the bed. He wanted to spend the day alone to gather his thoughts and maybe even try to see if he was able to do some psionic abilities that may have been suppressed by his inhibitors. Hesitantly, he walked over towards the door

"Yeah?" he asked while not opening it. He received no reply from the other side. It struck him as odd so X slowly opened the door. He looked around to see who it was but found no one, not even the guards that patrolled the halls were present. Stepping outside, he scanned the area with his implants to search for the ponies but whatever heat signature they had was gone as well.

Worried that something may be happening, he closed his door to figure out where everyone had gone. But as he took a step, he heard the sound of crackling coming from his right hoof. He lifted it up and saw what where sprinkles of many colors stuck on his hoof.

"What the hell is this?" he said quizzically. Shaking his hoof to get them off, he noticed a trail of the brightly colored sweets "Ok... someone wants me to follow this trail. Might as well see what this is all about"

He followed the trail diligently, making his way around the halls of the castle, going outside towards the courtyard and then walking around the gardens. He stopped for a quick moment, looking around he noticed that he was on the exact same spot where Discord's statue was. Of course, he was now placed in another secret location to prevent anypony from setting him free again.

"So the lizard hybrid thing is sealed away for good. If it was up to me I'd smash the statue into a million pieces" His voice reflected slight anger but he shrugged off the tough of Discord opting to forget about the whole situation

"Have to admit, they sure are good at cleaning up messes" X said as he looked at the many flowers around him. He did go around messing up the garden but now it was as if nothing destructive ever happened. "Oh man that reminds me, I better apologize to her. I'll do that as soon as I'm done with whatever this is all about"

Focusing on his goal once more, he continued to follow the trail. Again he found himself inside the castle, wandering the halls again and going from floor to floor. He was starting to get bored, the monotony slowly was eating away at his attention span.

"This is starting to get too repetitive for my taste, whoever wants me to follow this candy road better get to the point quick or else I'm getting out of here to do something more productive" As if on cue, the trail was beginning to end as it reached a large door. X looked at it with precaution. On his way he didn't stumble unto anyone in the castle. The sigh of guards doing their jobs or the staff either working diligently or enjoying their day was present all the time, but now it was as if the castle was deserted for a long time. He extended one of his hoofs and began to open the door slowly. A loud creaking sound was made in the process

"Anyone here?" X asked .The room was pitch black, what light entered was coming from the opened door. "I followed your trail or whatever the hell you call it. Hello?" no answer was given to him

_Hmm...dark room...no one around...eerie silence...what could possibly go wrong?_

X poked his head out, looking around he was switching from night vision to thermal, hoping to figure out where everyone had gone to. He came out empty on his search. Slowly, he steeped inside. After moving a couple of feet away from the door, it suddenly closed. Now the only thing that penetrated the darkness was the green light that emanated from his eye. He assumed that he was about to be ambushed so he took a fighting stance and readied himself for whatever was about to brawl with him

"SURPRISE!" The windows suddenly shot open, letting the daylight inundate the room and reveling an unexpected scenario for him. Before him were the Mane six and the princesses smiling at him. Multicolored decorations filled the room ranging from bright streamers to the many balloons that gently floated around.

"Uhm... What's going on?" X asked. In a blink of an eye, Pinkie suddenly appeared in front of him and grabbed his face.

"It's a party for you!" She exclaimed as she squeezed his face "It's your official Welcome to Equestria Super Duper Party!"

X shook his head to get her off him "I don't understand... after what happened you would act this way towards me?" X asked as he looked at all of them

Twilight walked over to him "It's as like I said before X, no pony here hates you" she replied, giving him a smile in the process

"You need to stop living in the past silly filly!" Pinkie exclaimed as she carried a slice of cake "Now how about you enjoy yourself! Go on and have some fun! Mingle around with the everpony or... perhaps you would like some time alone with somepony special?" Pinkie said as she nudge him

X blushed slightly at her last statement "Yeah...anyway. I appreciate the sentiment but I don't think I'm cut out for this"

" Why would you say that, I mean the only reason I could think about a pony not wanting to party is because they've never ever been to one but that would be silly I mean..." Pinkie looked at him with her mouth opened "Don't tell me you have never been to a party before?"

X rubbed the back of his neck "Well..."

**Flashback: Neo Zion Dance Club, Korhal**

"...As many of it's citizens like to enjoy the nightlife, the ones who attended the club tonight may have a different opinion about spending the night outside their homes after the unexpected and somewhat strange event that ruined their good time"

"Have there been any injuries reported Kate?"

"Thankfully, only slight burn injuries that should be cinch to cure for the medics. It's still unclear as to what exactly caused the fight in the in the first place and even more unclear as to how a soldier ended up flying across the dance floor and into the DJ's booth . But some citizens have several theories going from a bunch of young adults having too much fun to a drunk off-duty Firebat in the mood for a brawl. What we do know is that the investigation team will have their work cut out for them. This is Kate Lockwell reporting, UNN news"

"Thank you Kate. You've heard it hear folks, it is never a good thing to mix alcohol with fiery tempers. Coming up next, the hot burning sensation that's sweeping the systems. Muta wings, are they going...X...X!"

X snapped out of his mind and looked at Twilight "Are you ok?" she asked, her head tilted slightly to the side

"Yeah, I kinda drifted off there. What I was saying is that it's been a long time, since I've had a... party"

Before he could react, Pinkie was right next to him. He was constantly surprised by her. How exactly did she moved so fast? How could she appear out of nowhere? Did she have something under her hoofs that allowed her to walk on the ceiling? "No need to worry, I'll show you everything there is to partying!" She exclaimed. He smiled sheepishly as she led him towards the middle of the room "It's really easy X, all you have to do is..."

* * *

For most of the party he would spend it talking with the ponies. Rarity would constantly thank him about granting her the opportunity to experiment with the suit while telling him her many ideas. He would nod his head in agreement to everything she said with hopes that she would leave him alone. Rainbow egged him about the race and the whole cloud hitting thing. But the topic that brought her to tears was the one about him and Fluttershy at the hospital, much to X's dismay. As for Applejack and Twilight, they approached him with more questions about him. When he was finally left alone to relax, both princesses took the opportunity to speak with him.

"How are you enjoying the party X?" Celestia said

"I certainly wasn't expecting this" X replied

"It's exactly how Miss Pie had planned it from the beginning. After all, it is in these kinds of activities that she excels"

X took a quick glance at the pink pony. She was bouncing around, dancing and smiling. "Well I have to agree on that" X replied "Whoever did the whole catering is good. I've never tasted something as amazing as those sweets"

He soon regretted saying those words. In a instant he felt the air inside his lungs leaving him "I'm so happy that you liked it!" Pinkie exclaimed as she hugged him "I knew that you would enjoy everything from the party! The cake,the balloons, steamers, that weird dance you did and the surprised look on your face that brought a big, BIG smile to my face. Well, I always tend to smile but today is one of those super spectacular Pinktastic days!" She squeezed him even more, making some of his bones give an audible pop

"No... problem pinks...let me go now please...I can't...breathe" X said, struggling to get her off him.

"Okie dokie!" she replied, letting him go. "Huh...Pinks... I like it!" Pinkie exclaimed as she continued to enjoy the party

"Jeez, she's got quite a grip" X said as he stretched his wings "Anyway, I have a something to ask you both. Something that slightly bothers me"

"What is it X?" Luna said raising an eyebrow

_Can you two actually read my mind? Or was that simply part of the whole me going crazy?"_

Both rulers stared at each other, giving of a somewhat mischievous smile._ Perhaps it was both. It hard to say really._

"So you can...ah hell." X said as he gave out a sigh. Both Luna and Celestia chuckled

"Do not worry, we promise not to interlope in your thoughts" Celestia said as she smiled _Most of the times at least_

"Not funny" X replied as he gave them an annoyed look while both of them chuckled slightly "Can others to the same? It can be tiring to keep up my mind guard up at all times"

"There's only a couple of Unicorn's powerful enough in magic to be able to read minds" Luna replied "You already know one"

X looked at Twilight for a second , who was chatting with her friends "Figures it would be her"

"There's a reason why she's my student X" Celestia said. He could make out a certain feeling of pride coming from her tone of voice "Anyhow, you should enjoy the rest of the party. After it's over do come to the throne room. We must talk about some arrangements we have made for you" Both of them, left him alone. He pondered as to what exactly was it that they had intended for him. As long as it didn't involve hospitals or anything of that nature it was fine by him.

_By the way X... you should go ahead and talk to her...How else will you be able to express your feelings for her?..._

_I have no idea what you're talking about Luna..._

_It's never a good thing to lie X...it won't get you anywhere _

He turned around towards the princesses, he could see them giggling slightly as they walked away. Rolling his eyes, X walked away and headed towards the table full of sweets. His mouth was watering as he looked at all the food. However, he remembered the spectacle he did when he first ate food with flavor.

"Better take it easy, don't want to hear another lesson in proper etiquette courtesy of Miss Twilight" X sad in a soft tone before he indulged himself.

* * *

The day was beginning to end, the sky slowly began to take on the orange tint that signaled the approaching night. All of the ponies that attended the party headed towards the throne room since both princesses requested their presence. As they left, several servants entered the room to clean up after the party. They soon found out that X's reputation as a voracious eater was true as they looked at the sea of plates that were on top of the table.

Upon arriving at the throne room, they saw both rulers smiling warmly at them "Greetings everypony" Celestia said. All ponies bowed to her and greeted her except for X who instead nodded "The reason why we have requested your presence is because we wish to discuss the matter of X's new living accommodations as well as other important news"

"New living accommodations?" Twilight asked

"So I'm going to live outside the castle for now?" X said as he stepped forward

"That is correct X" Luna replied "Tia and I have come to the conclusion that it would be best for you to live in Ponyville. There you will learn all about the elements and hopefully be in peace until we can figure out a way to bring you back to your home"

The last part of Luna's sentence made Flutter somewhat sad, she didn't want him gone. Twilight on the other hand focused on the part that mentioned her home. "We also feel that you do not feel comfortable staying here" Celestia added

"You're right. Don't get me wrong, this place is amazing and definitely fitting for both of you... yet it's not something that I'm used to and I doubt I'll ever will"

"We understand and respect your feelings about our home" Celestia replied, giving him a slight nod

With her eyes glistening with hope, Twilight looked at Celestia "But if X is going to live in Ponyville then that would mean..."

"Correct Twi, X will have to live in one of your homes" Celestia replied. All the ponies were ecstatic with the news. The fact that he would stay with them was something that they didn't not expect. All of them rushed towards him, with the exception of Fluttershy who gave him some personal space

"Awesome X will stay with me! We still have some more flight training to do" Rainbow said as she grabbed him

"What?! He'll stay with me. Trust me X, you haven't lived till you tried our famous apple pies" Appejack rebutted as she pulled him away from Dash

Rarity slowly walked towards them and used her magic to pry Applejack away from him "X must simply stay with me. After all, we have already agreed to try and fix his dashing suit" She said as she walked away with X

A sudden pink flash appeared and whisked X away. Rarity quickly turned around and saw Pinkie carrying of X. "Nope, nopepity nope. X and I will have loads of fun baking cakes and cookies! Won't we X'sy Wexy" X had an annoyed look etched across his face.

When an aura of purple surrounded his body and levitated him. He gently descended next to Twilight "Actually since X promised to teach me some of his magic as well as me having the responsibility to do the same, he'll stay with me" The others quickly trotted towards them and where ready to commence the whole show once more

"Girls please!" Celestia said , calming them down. X gave out a sigh, then looked at her and whispered the word thank you "While your hospitality is very much welcomed, we have already decided were will he be staying"

"You have?" X asked

"Yes, you shall be staying with Twilight for the time being" Luna said. The other ponies had disappointed looks across their faces

Celestia quickly noticed "Now my little ponies no need to be upset" she said "You may of course pay a visit to him anytime you wish" All them perked up. "The reason we selected your home Twilight is because we would you also like for you to tutor him on the Harmony and friendship"

"Don't you worry princess. I'll be the best teacher X has ever had!" Twilight said confidently

_Hopefully better than miss hyperactive flier... _

_Be nice X..._

_What did I do?.._

Celestia then turned her attention towards X "Besides you living there, there are several other things that you must know"

X raised an eyebrow and gave Celestia a quizzical look "Such as..." he said with worry reflecting of his tone of voice

"While we have no quarrel against you and certainly do not resent you..." Luna said before Celestia steeped forward and approached him

"Others may not feel the same the same way" Celestia added "You see, news about what happened did manage to sneak across and several worries about you and your future actions have definitely surfaced"

"I can understand that and I stand by what I said. I do not resent anyone" X replied

Celestia gave him a smile, she could tell that he was sincere "Because of this we have no choice but to put you under house arrest"

X gave an audible groan "Does that mean I can't leave without having them looking after me?" X said as he pointed a hoof at the Mane six

Celestia placed a hoof on her chin and slighly tapped it "Correct. Though if you wish, you may also opt for the option to be in the dungeon for the next several months" The regal pony said as she gave him a smug look

X gave a sigh "I'll stick with the first choice"

Twilight walked over to him and place a hoof on his back "Don't worry X. I promise I'll do my best to keep you entertained. Say why don't we have a slumber party this week?" The other ponies were in agreement though not as much as Pinkie as she bounced even higher than before upon the prospect of having another party that involved X.

"What do you say X?" Twilight asked

"Oh oh! Say yes, say yes!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced even higher. X stood there with an indifferent look, trying his best to ignore them. However when he glanced them for a moment he saw them giving of an innocent look. Their eyes were even larger and were actually shining and their mouths were quivering slightly. Pretty much was the look that a puppy would give when it wanted something

"Ugh...fine...whatever...Just stop with the staring is creepy as hell...more so then usual" X replied. Pinkie and Twilight gave out a chuckle seeing that they were victorious with their charms "So when do I leave?"

"As a matter of fact, the train is waiting for you right now" Luna said

"Meaning that you leave for today" Celestia added "I do apologize for this being so sudden X"

X waved her off "No need to worry, I'm sure you have important tasks to take care of without having me wandering around the halls"

Celestia smiled and nodded at him "I thank you for understanding X" She then addressed the other six "As for all of you, do remember that you have a job to accomplish , I still expect you to each complete them accordingly"

"Yes your majesty" they all said in unison

"I thank everypony for taking the time to be here. I wish you all a good day" Celestia said "Take care, all of you"

As they left the room, X stopped for a moment at the door. _I know I said it before...but thanks for everything..._

_Remember what I told you X... _The princess of the moon said in a sing songy voice in his mind

_Still don't know what you're talking about Luna..._

He turned around for a moment seeing the princesses smiling warmly at him. He gave a slight smile before he left the room. Quickly he joined the group as they all headed towards the station.

* * *

..._Ponyville...Not the most original of names...but beggars can't be choosers..._

X continued to look outside his side of the window. Mountains and green hills decorated the land, add the sun slowly hiding behind them, it gave him a relaxing feeling. The trip for him came up somewhat unexpected. He knew that he wouldn't spent all his time in a castle in fact, X was slowly getting bored of the same long halls and decorations that gave it it's royal atmosphere, definitely not his natural environment

..._Nice scenery...might as well make the best of the time I'll spent in this world until they figure out how to bring me back...huh...sort of feels like a vacation or whatever comes close to one at least..._

X could hear the soft chattering of the other passengers. To them he was just another "normal" pegasus, which was good enough for him, though he could make out that several of them were speaking about him and his previous actions. But as long as they thought he was another Pegasus then it didn't matter what they said. The last thing he wanted was to have others trying to figure out every single detail of his life and him explaining what he really was.

"Umm...X?"

He turned his head around and saw Fluttershy next to him "Oh hey, is there something wrong?"

"N..no. Is just that...I was wondering if I could sit next to you...if it's no bother of course...

"No, of course not" X replied. He scooted over a bit to give her some room. She sat next to him, trying to keep herself from blushing.

For a while, it was silence that the two exchanged. Fluttershy would try to make eye contact with him but turn away at the last second while X would try to keep his mind clear. But every time he would look outside his window, Luna's words would buzz around his mind like an angry bee

_Talk to her X...how else will you get closer to her?.._

Trying to break the ice, he decided to spark some conversation with her "Uh..Flutter...May I tell you something or in this case, ask?"

"Oh,well... sure. What's on your mind?"

"It's about what happened when I was on the castle's gardens" X said. Fluttershy's mind went back to when he was stomping the flowers and scaring the birds.

"I'...haven't said I'm sorry..." X then looked right into her eyes "I know that you have a strong connection to nature and what I did to those flowers was something that really bothered you... What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry, for everything I've done that has saddened you"

She was quiet for a moment, letting his words sink in. She could tell that he was genuinely apologizing, slowly a smile appeared on her face and quickly followed an embrace "I accept your apology X" she said "You're a good pony X"

He gave out a slight chuckle "No, no I'm not. After all, there's still some room for me to improve" She game him a warm smile and leaned her head on his shoulders. X blushed slightly at her, it was not something that he expected, and neither did she expected to actually do it.

_Every single time I'm around her...Am I...actually falling for her?.. _He looked at Flutter, who now had her eyes closed.

"By the way..."

"Hmm..."

"Can we please try out best to **not** remember what happened at the hospital. You know the whole... needle thing"

"...I'll certainly try..." Flutter replied as she nuzzled his neck. Giving of a slight smile, he closed his eyes as well allowing sleep to takeover both of them.

A couple of seats from them were Twilight and her friends talking among each other. She wanted to spend some time with him though not as much as a Flutter did. However, X dismissed her, saying that she would have plenty of time to answer her questions as well as teach him the next day.

"They look nice together wouldn't you say" Rarity said as she looked at the two ponies. X's head was leaning on the glass window while Fluttershy was resting on his shoulder

"They do. You sure were right about X having a soft spot for Flutter, huh Twi" Applejack said, however she didn't receive a reply from her friend "Twi?"

"Maybe is got something to do with...no,no that would probably cause change in hair color..."

"Twilight dear, don't you think you should relax until we get home?" Rarity asked, seeing her friend mumbling and writing on a piece of parchment

"She's right Twi, after all he did promise that he would teach you tomorrow" Applejack added

"I know, it's just that is exciting about learning new things. Especially in the field of magic" Twilight replied. Her eyes glistened as she imagined herself with the ability to go invisible as well as other unique magical abilities "I know I he said to give him some space, but do you think I should go over there and asked him?"

"Twi snap out of it!" Appelejack exclaimed "Give the fella some space"

"You're right, I'm sorry. It's just so exciting to think about!" Twi said as her eyes glistened once more. The other ponies simply rolled their eyes. It was going to be a long trip for them.

* * *

Night finally arrived, as well as the train with all the ponies. With the starry night sky above them, they each said farewell to each other before leaving for their homes. X followed Twilight, she did her best to act as a proper tour guide, giving of the highlights of the town. While most ponies were slowly retreating to their homes, the few that managed to see him began to whisper and talk about the new guest that Twilight had. The gray stallion didn't say much, at least until he saw where he would be staying.

"And here we are!" Twilight exclaimed "Home sweet home"

"You live in a tree?" X asked

"Well, it's also the town's library, though not many ponies come to check out a book" Twilight replied "It's kind of a shame to tell you the truth"

"So this is... a treehouse..." X said as he scanned her home _...I find that somewhat...clever..._

Twilight used her key and opened the door "Please, right this way X" Entering her home, he was impressed by the amount of books that were on the shelves. There were books on top of tables, laying on the stairs, next to the chiar, acting as pillows for the couch and even some in the kitchen sink, which was weird to him but decided not to question it

"Quite an amazing sight, no wonder you know so much about many topics" X said as continued to look around

She smiled at his compliment "Thanks X, though there is always something new out there to be discovered"

X gave a slight chuckle "Oh you have no idea how much there is"

As X got to the living room, he heard footsteps coming from the second floor. It continued, as the sounds then began to reach the stairs until finally he saw who was behind the sounds.

A small purple dragon was yawing. It rubbed its eyes in an attempt to get a better look at his mentor "Twi...I know that you tend to stay awake past bed time, but can't today be..." Spike's words were cut short when he saw the gray pegasus in the room

"Who..who are you!? What are you doing here?!" the dragon asked as it assumed a defensive stance "The only reason that you would be here at this hour would be because... THIEF!" the dragon yelled, quickly it grabbed a pan

X stood still as the little dragon charged at him "I won't let you steal anything!" it yelled as it rushed him. As it was about to hit him, X dodged him by taking a simple sidestep. Before he could take another swing at him, Twilight quickly used her magic to levitate the dragon

"Spike stop! It's alright, he's not a thief" she said

"Well then, what's he doing here at this late an hour?" the dragon asked as he gave X a stern look.

She then put Spike back on the floor and began to explain the situation revolving around X.

"...and that's why he's staying with us" Twilight finally finished her explanation

"So with that out the way. Let's start over again" twilight said as she approached the dragon "Spike this is X and X this is Spike"

"Uh, it's a pleasure to meet you" Spike said as he rubbed the back of his neck "Sorry about me trying to hit you with that frying pan"

"You wished to defend you're home from a stranger. No need to apologize for a natural reaction" X replied "Tell me, are you some kind of lizard or salamander?"

Spike's chest puffed up "I'm a dragon!" he exclaimed as he spit out a small burst of green fire "See?"

"Hmm... you and Flint would definitely get along" X said "Knowing him, he would try to tell you all about propane and the many accessories that are about"

Both of them looked at each other with a confused look. They had no idea what he was talking about.

" I know it's somewhat late but I was wondering if I may have some books to read?" X said as he walked over to a shelf

Twilight's face lit up. A pony seeking knowledge like herself it was a breath of fresh air "Sure! Is there any topic you would like to begin with?"

"If I'm staying here for a while then I'll need to learn about this land. Anything about history, the local ecosystem and astronomy shall suffice for now"

"Ok, give me a second and I'll bring you your books" Twilight went from shelf to shelf, levitating several books in the process.

"So, you really aren't a pegasus?" Spike asked

"No, not at first"

"Then what were you then?"

"A Terran and considering the fact that I've told this story before, I'll let Twilight answer what ever questions you have"

"I'll tell you all about it later Spike" Twilight replied as she continued to look for X's books.

"Well ok. Anyway I'm going back bed if that's alright" X nodded at the young dragon

"Night Twi, night, Uhm X"

"Good night Spike" Twilight said from another room. Spike retired back to the upper floor with hopes of getting some sleep, dragging his feet in the process while X took a seat on a the nearby couch.

"Here you go" Twilight said cheerfully. She laid book after book before him, soon there were several towers of books on the table.

"Well that's more than what I expected. All of this is history?" X asked looking at all the texts

"Not all of them. I've taken the liberty to add some about the Elements as well as Harmony" Twilight replied "After all I was tasked to teach you" She sat next to him and opened a book "So let's get started!"

"Actually you better get some rest"

"What? But it's alright I'm not even that tired!"

"Tomorrow is another day and if we're going to try out our psionics then you'll need to get a good nights sleep"

"Well what about you, aren't you going to sleep as well" Twilight asked

"I slept a bit during our train ride. Besides I don't need that much rest anyhow" X replied as he opened a book

"What about the couple of days you spent in the hospital?" She asked giving off a smug look "If I recall correctly you were asleep for a while"

"There's a difference between asleep and unconscious. Get some rest, ok? I promise I won't try anything while you sleep"

"Oh alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night X" Twilight replied as she headed to her room. X looked back at his book and began to read...

**History of Equestria Volume I**

**Chapter 1: The sun and the moon**

_For several centuries we've been under the watchful eyes of our fair ruler Celestia. Under her wise guidance, we've lived in peace and harmony without needing to worry about war,bloodshed or turmoil between all Ponykind. Yet besides her, there is another ruler that looks after us when our eyes are closed and our minds are drifting in a field of dreams. It is fair Luna that brings us tranquility in the night and lets the moon and the stars shine with magical splendor. Both powerful and kind, yet during a dark time not all was at it should be. For it would be the youngest of the Sisters that would suffer from a terrible curse. But before we delve deeper into this topic, one must first understand just who are the two Princesses. Who were the ones that came before them. And Who was responsible for the day that will live in unwanted infamy._

* * *

_**No special notes at this time other than I managed to somehow post this chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to get a break in the coming weeks, but I'm not holding my breath and also may be able to get something I've had in mind done One certainly can hope. As always, hope you enjoyed what you've read and here's me wishing you a good day.**  
_


	8. An unexpected kind of rush

Chapter 8:

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_With the week almost over, the time our dear guest has stayed has proven to be both educational and entertaining for me. X continues to shine on as an excellent student. We're he not a soldier, he may pass as a scholar with ease. Quite frankly his progress is amazing, to which I can't deny that it makes me somewhat... jealous. But I ignore such thoughts and instead continue to do my very best to teach him all about our way of life and of course as much as I can about the Elements. _

_In regards for your concern about us both spending too much time inside books, I've decided to take the next few days off for both us. I intend to show X around the town and hopefully even find something that he enjoys. That way he may pass the time and depending on what it is, maybe pass out as a job for him to do during his stay here. Though you've mentioned Luna and you were going to ask him about a beneficial proposition for him, I can only wonder what exactly do you both have in mind. Nevertheless, I believe it's still nice to have other options._

_I'll write later regarding the events that may occur in this bright and sunny day._

_You're Faithful Student,_

_Twilight Sparkle _

Rolling up the message, the lavender unicorn then turned towards her assistant"Can you go ahead and send this message Spike?"

"Sure thing Twi!" The young dragon exclaimed. Grabbing the parchment, he let out a small burst of flames and in an instant, the scroll vanished as it headed to it's intended destination "Breakfast is ready!"

"Thanks Spike" Twilight replied giving of a smile in the process "X! Breakfast time!"

"On my way" The stallion replied from the other room. When he entered the kitchen, both of them saw X clenching a book on his mouth. As he sat down on the table, he laid the book on the table, flipped the pages and continued to read.

"What are you reading this time?" Twilight asked in a playful tone

"Something else besides history for a change" X replied, his eyes still moving across the words inside it "This one is titled _Space Adventures of Lightning Rider_"

"You like Sci-fi novels?" Spike asked as he laid a couple of plates with food for both ponies

"I find it amusing how this novel describes technological advancements such as cryogenics and fusion energy" X replied. He gave a slight chuckle as closed the book "Anyhow, thank you for the food my scaly friend"

"Oh, sure thing X" Spike said. As he went to get his own food, the young dragon had a smile on his face. That was the second time in the week that X called him friend. The way he looked a it, the more friends the better. Especially when that friend is technically an alien.

"So has there been any word from the fair princess?" X asked

"No, still no word on how to get you back to your world" Twilight replied, her face giving a slightly disappointed look

"Ah well, I can wait for a while. But I really hope there's something to do around here besides reading" X said as he gave a glancing look at her"No offense to books by the way"

"Well X, I'll ignore that statement you said because I have good news for you!" Twilight said cheerfully

The stallion turned his gaze towards her "And that would be?" X asked as he took a bite from an apple

"We'll be taking a break from studying for a while and we're going to see the town"

"You sure that's a good idea?" X asked "Remember what Celestia said? About what others may think of me?"

Twilight quickly dismissed his statement "All the more reason for you to go out and prove that you're a nice pony. Plus, I think it'll be fun as well"

"If you say so..." X said as he continued to eat "So where are we going?"

"I can't tell you, it's a surprise" Twilight replied as she ate. He looked at her, rising an eye with worry. Just what was she planning exactly? As he was about to take another bite, he placed a hoof on his head. An unexpected jolt of pain caused him to drop the apple back into the bowl.

She noticed his discomfort and quickly looked at him "Are you alright?" Twilight asked

He gave out a quick smile and waved her off "No need to worry, just a simple headache. Guess I need that break after all"

"Are you sure is just a headache? I don't want to see you getting sick" Twilight replied

"No, no... It's fine. Really!" The stallion replied, smiling as hard as he could.

Twilight looked at him seriously, her eyes squinting "Ok, but I'll be keeping an eye on you. Alright?"

"Fair enough"

Without paying any more attention to the matter, the lavender unicorn continued to eat her food.

"_This is definitely not good... I better figure out how to deal with this before it becomes unbearable" _X thought to himself as he fidgeted nervously on his seat.

* * *

After finishing their breakfast, both ponies headed out for their destination. Still kept in the dark about where he was going to end up, he instead decided to try and enjoy the fresh air. The town was as peaceful as it could be, considering it's reputation. It's inhabitants going about with their daily lives, the sounds of laughter and joy coming from the colts and fillies that played together. A long time had passed since he could wander around without having to worry about reporting his location to his superiors. But their walk proved to be somewhat short for him, preventing him from fully enjoying the fresh air. They came upon what appeared to be a bakery, the tell tale smell of baked goods emanating from inside.

"Well here we are!" Twilight said in a cheerful tone

"Okay I'll bite... What am I looking at here?" X said trying to understand where exactly was here

"This is Sugarcube Corner" Twilight replied "Home to some of the best tasting sweets in all of Equestria"

"We ate just a while ago,why come here?" X asked as he continued to look at the odd building

"Well quite frankly it was mostly Pinkie's idea. You see I wanted to find something for you to pass the time while you're here"

"I appreciate your offer Twilight, but don't think I have the qualities to be a baker. " X said as he began to head back to Twilight's home. Before he could take another step, his body glowed in a purple aura preventing him from moving.

Twilight quickly trotted in front of him "Please X, just... give it a try. It'll be fun"

With a sigh X looked back at the door "Very well, let's get this over with then"

Entering the building, X was bombarded by the smell of sugar and the sight of many brightly colored pastries displayed across from him.

"X"SY!" A loud familiar voice yelled. He instantly knew what was coming. His vision went pink, his ears where ringing and he was short on air once more "I'm so glad you here! Oh we're going to have so much fun baking and making all the treats that will bring smiles to everypony!"

"That's great pinks... can you let go of me now?" X said as he struggled to get away from her. Twilight was chuckling from behind him.

"Okay!" Pinkie replied. As she released her grip from across the room two other ponies approached them. The first was a bluish pony with a pink mane who was wearing a yellow apron. Following behind her was a yellow pony with an orange mane. On top of his head, a hat with red and white stripes and a white apron covering his body.

"Good morning Twilight" said Mrs. Cake upon seeing her

"Good morning to both of you as well" she replied

"And who's this fella?" asked Mr. Cake

"This is X'sy. He's the friend that I told you about" Pinkie replied, practically bouncing in place

"Ah, so he's the one behind all the commotion that happened a few days ago" said Mr. Cake as he approached him. X was somewhat nervous as he got closer. He was expecting to receive a hoof to the face. "It's a pleasure to meet you" the yellow pony said cheerfully

"Uhm... Likewise sir" X replied, taken back by his attitude

"We've heard quite a bit about you, all thanks to Pinkie of course" Mrs Cake added

_Figures she would spill every detail about me _"About what happened ..." X said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"It's alright. We know that Discord was behind it all and you did your best to do the right thing in the end. So let us leave all of that in the past" replied the blue pony "Now then, what brings the two of you here today?"

Twilight steep forward and explained "Well Mrs Cake. We were hoping if you would help X here by giving him a job while he stays here with us. If it's alright with both of you of course"

"Well, it's nice of you to offer but I don't think we'll be able to pay you well for your work and it just wouldn't feel right" Mr. Cake replied

X was surprised once more. To see such honesty was rare for him, sure there were some honest Terrans out in the galaxy, but good luck finding them. "You don't have to worry about that sir. I'll do the work for free"

"You will?" The yellow pony replied "Well then, we could use some extra help in the kitchen"

In a blink of an eye, Pinkie appeared next to the gray pegasus, raising a hoof up in the air"Oh, oh!Can I teach him!? Please? I'll show him how to make the best treats in all Equestria!" She exclaimed as she bounced even higher than before with excitement

The Cakes and Twilight chuckled at her reaction "Of course you can" Mrs Cake replied

"YAY! Come on X'sy lets get to baking!" Pinkie exclaimed as she trotted of away with him.

Now in the kitchen, X was wearing a white apron and a small white hat on his head. He had his eyes closed, looking like he was meditating, as he sat on a chair. Waiting for Pinkie to tell him what to do. Across from him were several bowls and utensils laid neatly on top of a table.

"Alrighty then! Ready to create the most funtastic, tasting, sweetest sweets in existence?!" Pinkie exclaimed as she grabbed the nearby bowl.

"I guess" X replied as he got up. "What do I do?"

"First, we take a bunch of these!" She exclaimed as she juggled a dozen eggs. How she could do it so easily proved to be a mystery for him. She tossed a couple of them his way, causing him to react on instinct. Using his psionics, he kept them floating in the air to prevent them from breaking.

"Now, put them in a bowl!" Pinkie said as she let them fall inside it, X followed suit and did the same.

"Stir them up!" she said as she grabbing the mixer behind her while the gray pony observed

Moving faster than a medivac hitting it's afterburners, she headed towards the nearby fridge and back "Now we need lots a milk!" she exclaimed as she held a carton of the bovine liquid

"I'm no expert on cooking, but are you sure you should be pouring that much?" X asked

"Well we are making a big cake, so we need lots of everything!" Pinkie exclaimed as she continued to pour "Pass the Flower please!"

"Don't you mean, flour?"

"Yep!" She replied cheerfully

"Alright then" X replied as he did what was instructed. Looking at a lone sack in a corner, he headed towards it and picked it up "Here you go"

"Thank you very much X,sy! Better take a deep breath!" She exclaimed as she emptied the entire sack. As she shook it, the white powder began to coat not only the bowl, but the entire room. Just how much could it hold? X wondered as the mist continued to become more prominent. In the end, only X's green eye could pierce the white sweet haze.

Flapping his wings, X managed to get rid of the fog around them. Though now everything near him was covered in white. "Pinks?" He said as he looked around, trying to find Pinkie. For some reason, his ocular implant was coming negative on finding her heat signature. "Oh man, I hope you ain't on the fritz now" He said aloud, referencing to his eye_  
_

"I'm right here!" Pinkie shook her head, giggling as her body shifted from white to pink "Now it's time to get hot!"

"Get hot?" X said in a quizzical tone

"We're going to put this into the oven silly!" She explained as she picked up the huge bowl.

"Uhm, Pinks I don't think that will fit inside the..." before he could finish his sentence, Pinkie tossed the bowl to him. Looking inside it he found that all of the batter inside it was gone

He looked at her, eyes wide in surprise "How the hell did you..."

"Get ready X'sy!" she exclaimed as she clutched a stick with one of her hoofs

"Wait, ready for what?" X asked somewhat worried. As the timer ticked down, the oven rumbled more and more ominously. Until finally, a loud DING was heard. His pupils were the size of pricks as he wondered what was going to happen

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Pinkie exclaimed as she unlatched the lock on the oven. As it opened, X could have sworn that he heard the sound of a Siege tank firing followed by the impact of being hit by one of it's shells. The mix of the batter launched out with such force that it knocked him back towards the wall.

With the barrage over, he found himself plastered on the wall, clutching the bowl tightly. _This place will be the death of me_

"Nice job X'sy. Not a single spill!" she said cheerfully as she gave him a helping hoof.

A couple of minutes later, the batter began to take the form of a cake. It's size was twice as big as him.

"Now comes the funnest of all the fun parts of making a cake" the over-reactive pony said "Let's get to decorating X'sy!"

X followed all her instructions to the letter while at he same time striking some conversation with her. For the most part it was Pinkie who was talking, which didn't bother him at all. The topics ranged from what where the sweets called where he came from, what they tasted like and how could she make them.

"You know. I've mostly spent my life either training or keeping my psionics at peak form. Never had a chance to actually lay back an do what normal people do like relax or just taking it easy" X said as he tried his best to decorate the cake

Pinkie's usual demeanor shifted to being calm for a change, listening to X's every word with attention "So you've never been able to have fun? True fun?"

"I've had down time before. As much as my superiors would have wanted me to be working at all times,I'm no machine so i need to have a break from time to time" X replied "I've never thought I would be living a civilian's life... Ain't half bad..."

"There's nothing that brings a smile to me like seeing another pony happy. Seeing you being happy is even better!" Pinkie said as a warm smile ran across her face

"...Hmm, Really could go for a Mirafruit pie. That is some good eating" X said to himself as he finished decorating his part of the cake

"Welp, I'll do my best to make something as sweet as those pies" Pinkie replied as she finished her part as well

Backing of a couple of feet, X took on the sight of their work. A large pink cake , decorated beyond imagination in sweets and sprinkles stood proudly in the middle. As he continued to look on, he felt an embrace though this time without the air crushing force

"Thanks for your help X'sy. You did and excellently funtabulous job"

"No problem Pinks. I'll admit, it was kind of fun" X replied "Thought next time I ain't standing in front of the oven"

* * *

The day was almost gone, the once blue sky now tinted orange. Leaving the kitchen, X came upon the sight of Twilight reading a book.

Looking up for a moment she saw him approaching her "Oh hey X! Tell me, how was your day here?"

"Not what I expected to do today, but it was enjoyable" X replied as he rubbed his head

"Are you feeling alright?" Twilight asked

"Yeah, just that headache again. It'll pass like before"

"X, why do I get the feeling that your not telling me everything?" Twilight said looking at him with concern

"It's fine really... Nothing but..."

"X..." Twilight cut him of, looking at him seriously

Seeing that she wouldn't let it go, he gave out a sigh and decided to talk "Alright fine. Better to tell you now than to wait until I can't handle the pain"

"Pain?" she said with worry in her tone

"Remember what a ghost is? Well I was on my way to become a specter. It's basically an upgrade to a ghost, making him or her a stronger psion. But there's a process in becoming one and it involves the use of something called Terrazine. I haven't taken another dose since arriving to this world and I'm starting to feel the effects of it. Frankly, I'm astounded that it took this long for me to feel it, usually it takes a couple of hours to feel withdrawal effects"

"But what can we do to help you? We don't have any of that Terrazine here" Twilight said as she began to think of ways to aid him

"Nothing to do. Just wait until my body gets over it and goes back to normal" X replied, an indifferent look on his face

"I'm sorry X. I really wish there was something I could do" Twilight replied crestfallen at not being able to help

"Hey come on now, no need to feel all down. It's not that bad" X replied as he gently tapped her "If you want to help me, then how about we get something to eat"

"I hardly think that's a solid way to help"

"Trust me it is. I'm starving" X replied a loud rumble coming from his stomach

"Oh, I have just the treat!" Pinkie exclaimed as she rushed back to the kitchen. When she came back, she was clutching a plate and on top of it stood a solitary cupcake. She placed it on top of a table ready for X to eat it.

X said as he looked at the pastry. The color of the frosting was bright purple and it was covered in multicolored sprinkles. "Is it me or is this thing... glowing?"

"Go on, give it a taste!" Pinkie said "It's one of our best sellers!"

Grabbing it with a hoof, he slowly took a bite. Instantly he was beset by pure flavor "Mhh...This is... Amazing!" X said as his eyes twinkled with glee

"Yay! I knew you would like it!" Pinkie said as well

The gray pony continued to eat it, savoring each bite. "God, this is like eating something straight from heaven" But as he continued to eat, he began to felt somewhat weird. Still he continued to indulged himself until it was all gone. He laid back on the chair, contemplating the idea to lick the remaining frosting from his hoof.

"Thanks pinks, that really hit the..."

Twilight looked at him "X?" She didn't receive a reply from him

"X are you ok?" she said as she nudged him

"I FEEL GREAT!" X exclaimed, his blue eye as wide as a diner plate. It reminded Twilight of herself when she would have her...episodes. In a blink of an eye, X was gone. A trail of dust was left in his wake, heading back into the kitchen. Both ponies headed quickly towards him, inside X was moving around quite fast and his progress on baking was even faster. Already there was a tower of freshly made cupcakes waiting to be consumed.

"X... Did you do this?" Twilight asked with awe at his speed

Turning around, he saw X's eye twitching and a rather strange smile on his face "This? Yeah, I did it! Not hard when you know what you are doing. I mean thanks, Pinks! This is quite a way to have fun. Also means more merchandise for the Cakes to sell. I could tell they are nice folks, I did read a bit of their minds. I know, I know. That was a bad thing for me to do, shouldn't go around prodding into others business. I'm sorry. Cupcake?" The speed at which he talked even surprised Pinkie.

"Umh..." Twilight looked at him with a mix of worry and confusion. Where did this side of him come from? "X...I think it's time for us to go home, don't you think?"

"No cupcake? Oh... Ah well, you're right it's getting late. But I want to take a moment and stretch my wings. Haven't flied today!" X replied as he bolted towards the door

"X wait!" Twilight yelled as she trotted after him. She tried her best to stop him but he was already in mid-flight by the time she got outside.

"I'm going to break the sound barrier!" That was the last thing Twilight heard as he gained distance

"This isn't good. Pinkie you go get Fluttershy, I'll go get Dash. We'll need their help to get him back"

The pink mare placed her right hoof on her face like a soldier would to salute an officer "Okay dokey Twi! I'm on it"

* * *

Everything was a blur to him. The last thing that X could remember before he blacked out was flying across the sky, enjoining the sensation of the wind hitting his face, the scenic view of the landscape from above and defining sound of reaching Mach one. He could recall that a voice was exclaiming for him to stop and land, but couldn't quite make it out who it belonged to. He did have to admit, that sudden rainbow bursting from behind him was quite a sight.

Opening his eyes slowly, his vision a bit blurry. Sounds around him were muffled. As his vision recovered he saw a familiar yellow pony looking at him, smiling warmly. Looking around he saw the other 5 talking among each other. He tried to move but found that his body was extremely fatigued.

Feeling something covering his body, he noticed that Flutter threw a blanket over him.

"Ugh. What happened?" X said in a groggy tone

"You had what the doctor called a sugar rush" Flutter replied in a soft tone

"That would explain why I feel like I got hit by a truck" X said "I didn't do anything bad, did I?" He asked

"No you didn't. On the contrary, you helped Pinkie and the Cakes a lot today" She said as she smiled warmly

"Good" He replied as he laid back "What?" he said as Flutter continued to smile at him.

"Nothing. Get some rest, ok? It's pretty late" she replied as she laid forward and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead

He blushed slightly and gave a quick smile at her as he hid his head under the blanket. Extremely tired, he closed his eyes and slept.

"Is he going to be alright?" Rainbow asked

"Yes he will. The doctor said that he just needs rest" Twilight replied

"What exactly happened to him?" Rarity asked

"Yeah,very few poonies other than myself can do a... what did he called it? A sonic boom?" Rainbow added

"Wow, he went that fast? Wish I could have seen that" Spike said

"The doctor said he has a rare condition. Apparently X can't eat too many sweets or else he'll be all jumpy and hyperactive" Twilight replied as she looked at Pinkie "And not in the good way"

"Oh" Pinkie said softly looking somewhat sad

"It's okay Pinkie, he can still eat what you bake. Just not that much. Besides he said he really likes your cooking!" Twilight said in an effort to cheer her up, which worked.

"You're right! He did say he loved it!" Pinkie said as she regained her bounce "And thanks to him, we have so many cakes that will bring smiles to ponies everywhere!"

"I know what you mean, I've never seen someone cook that fast" Twilight replied "By the way, what did he say when you caught up to him Flutter?"

"Yeah you were blushing so much" Rainbow said as she looked at her . A smug grin on her face

The timid Pegasus blushed slightly at the attention she was receiving "Well...that's not important right now. I think it's best to let X rest"

"She's right. We should let him sleep" Twilight said "Night's already out"

"Have a good night girls"

"Alright, I guess I'll see you all tomorrow" Rainbow said

"You all have a good night dears" Rarity said as the group headed towards each of their homes

With all their friends gone Twilight readied levitated a quill and paper "Come on Spike, we have a letter to write" Twilight said as she headed up stairs.

Downstairs X was sleeping soundly"...mhm...best...cupcake...ever..." he mumbled in his sleep

* * *

_**Before anything else, I want to say I'm sorry for taking too long to come up with more for this story and to actually say thanks to you guys for having the patience to put up with it. Guess you could say you have the tolerance for it. Right, lame jokes aside. Thanks really for taking interest in this story. As I always say, I thank you for your time and hope you enjoyed what you've read. **_

_**I'll do my best to make the next one as soon as possible but as good as possible at the same time. I'm gone. **_


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